The Shattered One
by Myevltwin
Summary: The life of a criminal is thus: You hurt other people to survive. The life of a huntsman is thus: You stop criminals from hurting other to survive. The life of a mercenary is thus: It's a gray area.
1. Enter the Mercenary

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A/N

This story is entirely fan-made and fictional. Any acts that you might find offensive, disguising, inhuman, wrong or just don't like, we are not liable for. You are reading this story of your own free will and not being forced, if you don't like something we are not forcing you to stay and read it. Please leave the page and re-frame from reading the chapter and or story. All Copyrighted Characters belong to their respect owners. We don't claim anything that is not our own creation and are merely using them for fan made material.

We accept constructive criticize and help but being rude and disrespectful will not be tolerated. This is done for the fun of writing not to make every little person happy, while making people happy with are stories is great we are not here for Money, Fame or Fortune this is done for the simply joy of writing.

Chapter 1

"Do you have any work for me, Junior?"

Hei "Junior" Xiong craned his head to the side and spied the owner of the voice. A young man, probably no older than eighteen, sat at his bar. Normally he'd have questioned how someone _snuck_ into his bar; but he was practically used to it after his _men_ constantly failed to keep unwanted people out. He was really going to have to look into getting new people. Junior just had to accept it as something new in his life and move on.

The person in question kept his head down and a hood up to conceal sun kissed golden locks that barely could reach down to cover sapphire blue eyes. A tattered red cloak concealed most of his form, but what could be seen was silver forearm guard on his left arm with a spiral design resting over orange sleeves from a long sleeved shirt. His pants were black with an orange strip going down the sides of his legs. His one hand that was visible held on to a chain that disappeared up into the confines of his cloak. A fur belt twitched every so often.

"I can't say I do right now." He started cleaning a glass. Hei looked behind the young man towards his two body guards. He was waiting for them to notice him. His men certainly had already noticed them. They tensed when they walked by him. "What kind of job are you looking for?"

Scoffing, the mysterious man tapped the bar twice with his knuckle. He sat up just a tad bit more as if he were surprised by the hollow sound the bar had made when he tapped it. "Anything and everything. Assassination to extermination. Whatever is available."

Hei sat the cup down and eyed the figure funny. Aside from how he held himself, there wasn't much else to go on about him with his face as obscured as it was. Still, he did have enough information to know who he was dealing with.

"There are a few jobs I can think of," Hei admitted freely. Information, no matter how small it might be, came with a price. "Tell me something interesting first and I'll tell you what I know." Hei tensed when the figure slipped his hand into his cloak and withdrew a scroll. He set an image on it and slid it across the bar to him.

"Names have power, but that name is sacred. She was precious to me once, but now she's gone."

Junior eyed the image of a woman with pink hair. She wore a red dress and was done up nicely. Perhaps they were going to a bar. She was reaching for the cameraman, most likely the figure he was speaking with. Behind them was another man, one dawned in a small shroud of fog.

Sliding the scroll back to him, Hei inhaled deeply as he said, "There are a few jobs available; but they're extermination missions right now. No one is pissing off anyone enough to want an assassination."

"Payment?"

The bar owner pulled out a small lockbox and started flipping through the contents. He stopped and read something quietly to himself. "The two that I have right now are going for ten thousand lien. The locations are a little hush-hush right now. If local authorities were to get involved there'd be a lot of questions. Same if a huntsman got involved."

"Location?" Hei tossed a business card with an address on it. Taking it and getting to his feet, he reached out and dropped some lien for him. "You dabble in information, right? Can you find someone that's been hidden for years?"

"I can try." The scroll popped out again and this time it had a different image on it. A man with raven colored hair, blue high collar shirt, and a robotic right arm was now on it. Junior took all of it in as he looked over every detail of the man. Picking up another dirty glass he said, "It'll make it easier if I had a name to go with the face," as he started washing it.

Putting the scroll away, the figure chuckled. "If I survive this, I'll tell you the name if you promise to give me the jobs you get through here. I'll even split it with you. Seventy-thirty."

The bar owners' left eye twitched momentarily. Most of the jobs weren't exactly going to pay that well. And a no name mercenary taking on any kind of job wouldn't have the greatest of reputations at start. Still… Thirty percent wasn't as bad as it sounded. If he survived this then he could use his contacts to get this guys' name out there and pull in more requests, which meant more money, which would also mean more information. Drunken people talked just as nicely as every shadow in the world did.

"If you survive," Hei told him curtly with a nod.

The figure nodded his thanks as he turned the stool around and started walking away. His cloak hid the tip of a staff-like weapon on his back and as he walked you could the jingle of his chains striking metal. Junior watched him leave carefully as the young man got to the door, his hands in his pockets and spoke something to the bouncer at the door. The man tensed and opened it up for him hastily. The last thing Junior saw was his belt unraveling and swishing in the wind before the door was shut and the pale bouncer looking around nervously.

"So who was that?" Miltia asked. She sat down at the bar and eyed Junior carefully as the man snapped from his analytical mind to his normal self.

"A potential mercenary if he survives this job." Junior poured himself a drink. His eyes drifted back to the door. His guard still seemed fazed by something. What it was Junior could only guess at, but it was intriguing to watch as the man became slightly concerned with every shadow that passed him by. "He's going to Grants' farm."

"That man just got himself another body to bury." Miltia confessed softly. It was always a shame to see people go to him for work and die without ever getting paid. Oh well, the world was a cold and cruel place, despite what others would actually argue against. "Did you catch his name?"

"He didn't give it, but I know who he is." Junior gulped down the contents of his drink. The bitter taste it left was refreshing. He wanted to just drink away this job. Two years that man had been praying on huntsman and other mercenary types. Junior looked at the payment that was to be given out for the job if it was ever completed and wondered how much blood was now on it. "His name is Uzumaki Naruto, a fox Faunus, from Atlas."

"He doesn't look like he came from there. Maybe he was just raised there or…"

"He doesn't dress the part. His parents were from Vacuo and Mistral." Junior poured himself another drink. Miltia watched her boss seemingly drown his sorrows for what he did to the poor boy. "He was born and raised in Atlas. Went to a small academy to become a huntsman. Got turned down after he lost his left arm in combat. Reports are sketchy for how he lost it, but it's believed he lost it to friendly fire. He disappeared after his entry was revoked and now this is the first time anyone has seen him in two years."

"Where do you think he went?"

Junior shrugged and poured himself a third glass. His hands shook. He looked back to the bouncer at the door. The man was even more paranoid then he was before. "My guess is that he was dead and came back to life because he didn't like being dead. Wouldn't surprise me either. He was known for making anything impossible possible and never giving up. If he did die and came back to life, I fear why he truly came back."

Miltia glanced at her sister as she stalked towards them with a bored expression. There was no entertainment tonight.

(-)

Checking the card for the final time, Naruto pocketed it and stepped up to the door. He gave it three raps with his knuckle. A disgruntled cry sounded from behind the door and then a crash as someone fell. A few short seconds later the doors' locks could be heard clicking and the door was pulled open before it hit a small chain to keep it shut.

"Hello?"

"Are you Grant?"

"Yeah… Who wants to know?" Naruto raised the card he was given and the man stared at it for several seconds. "Oh! You're here to exterminate the Grimm in the area." He shut the door and then the final lock was removed. The door was thrown open and Grant stood with his one arm on his hip. "Thanks man. You have no idea on how hard it is out here. I'm trying to grow a garden and these little bastards keep showing up to kill my hands."

"I'll deal with them. Do they have a nest around here?"

Scratching his balding head, the man looked to the south and said, "Somewhat," if with a little worry. "They roam. Not uncommon for some Grimm, as they do look for spots with negative emotion, but these ones sort of just change areas frequently but always come here."

"So they have multiple nests?" Grant gave a sad nod. "I assume you used to go after them?"

"I did until one of them managed to get my arm a few months back. Around this time they all start showing up. My helpers are out of town today so I kind of need help now." He smacked his lips and looked back out to the south. "You can find them on the edge of the forest around this time. The main road isn't safe at night around these parts, but if you need to get somewhere, you usually got go down it. The council has been rather lax in trying to get a better way to travel through these parts. But until they get it fixed, it's the only road and the Grimm uses it as a hunting ground."

Naruto nodded and looked back to the south.

"My boys managed to clear out most of them a few days ago. But the little bastards keep multiplying. They had 'em down to 'bout fifteen or so. But I don't know what they're at now."

"I'll take care of it."

Grant grunted and shut the door.

Naruto slowly made his way to the location in question. He passed through the cornfields of the farmland. The rows of corn split and became other vegetable products that he either didn't like or just didn't care to know about. The main road was also easily identifiable. The main "road" was nothing more than a dirt path surrounded by a shady wooden fence on both sides with weeds growing up them; a clear sign of their negligence to properly maintain this area.

Jumping the fence, Naruto kept his hands in his pockets as he strolled through the dark forest in search of his targets.

Grimm attacks in these parts weren't uncommon. Huntsman usually patrolled the wall and a little more in order to keep people safe and secure when given the chance. This was part of the reason traveling by air became a must for most people. With more Grimm on the ground than in the air, air travel became the most used form of transportation between Kingdoms. But for towns in close proximity to one another traveling by ground was a more accessible thing than air travel. And when transporting cargo Huntsman would be called in to escort the cargo from one location to another.

Mercenaries weren't uncommon for these sorts of jobs either. In fact, a lot of questionable people used mercenaries or huntsman that went rogue to get their product across great distances for fear of an actual huntsman requesting information on the nature of what is being shipped. This didn't first come around until after a team of huntsman was transporting a new species of Grimm that was discovered and captured. The beast broke free of its restraints and then savagely killed all four members of the team. Video footage of their slaughter was found a year later when some people came across the remains of the transport and thought they could make some quick cash from it.

After that all products were given inspections before being transported by anyone, with the exception of mercenaries and huntsman that had turned away from their civic duties as protectors.

The sound of gravel under foot made him stop his train of thought and glance in the direction of the sound. Narrowing his sapphire eyes, Naruto reached for something on his back concealed by the cloak. A moment later a growl sounded and out stepped a Beowulf. It stood to its full height and snapped at him.

Then another appeared. Before long a horde of them had appeared and circled the blond. Naruto took his hand away from whatever he was reaching for on his back and instead reached to the small of his back for something else. The first Beowulf howled and charged him, eager to stop him from drawing whatever weapon he might conceal.

Naruto spun under its wide swing and whipped out a black pistol, firing one round into the chest of the Grimm as it whipped around to attack him again. The round put a fist sized hole in its right lung area and it staggered back from the force of its kinetic impact before it dropped to the ground dead. He used his other hand to withdraw a second one of equal size and start blasting each Grimm away.

As the Grimm got closer and closer Naruto grimaced and was forced back to the main road. He propped himself up on a post and reloaded his weapons. The Grimm stalked out on all four, hungrily staring at him. Gripping his weapons tightly, he smirked and swung them upwards. The handles fell straight with the barrel of the twin pistols and a three inch blade sprang out of the top of each barrel. He put his index finger through the ring around the trigger and twirled them before holding them in a reverse grip.

Undeterred by his weapons the remaining Grimm charged him. Slowly and methodically Naruto weaved between them, slicing through hide and bone with relative ease. He switched one to its pistol form and blasted a few while holding others at bay with the pistol-dagger.

It was a quick and easy clean up. The Grimm were slain and the blond peered off into the distance as the crunch of gravel under foot alerted him to a new presence. Slowly, he turned and found Grant holding a sawed off double-barrel shotgun in one hand. The man didn't flinch as he pulled the trigger. The round hit his aura shield and spun him around to one knee. Grant pulled back the hammer on the second chamber and shook his head. He pulled the trigger again. Naruto's hand jerked up as the hammer struck the round and ignited the dust inside it and stopped the tiny pellets from touching his flesh. His left hand was riddled with his holes, but he didn't mind that.

Now unarmed, Grant tossed his gun down and ran.

Naruto got to his feet and checked his left hand. The rounds hadn't done nearly as much damage as he had first thought. Still…

He grabbed one of his pistols, took aim at the fleeing man, and squeezed the trigger. He heard him scream and fall. Slowly, he stalked over towards him and found him attempting to crawl away whimpering all the while. "How often do you do this?" Naruto asked plainly. He kicked Grant onto his back and planted his foot on his chest. The one armed man huffed and spat up at him. Naruto's belt unraveled and turned into an orange fox tail. The mans' sneer only grew. "You're all the same, no matter the age, culture, or location. You're all the same."

Slowly, he grabbed his foot with his damaged hand and started hauling him through the cornfield, kicking and screaming all the way. Fishing out a red dust crystal from his pocket, Naruto examined it for a moment as he released Grant's leg and looked to where he was.

"So this is why this spot is so hush-hush," he mused quietly. Grant turned over and started trying to crawl away again. Naruto tossed the dust shard in the air a few times before pulling out his pistol and tossing the shard out into the field. He took aim as it began to fall and squeezed a round off as the shard began to disappear behind the tall plants. The round ignited the dust shard with energy and caused it to explode.

Grant turned over as the sound of the explosion drew his attention. "Oum please," he whimpered out. Naruto turned and faced him, his pistol still drawn. "Plea-"

Naruto shot him in the chest twice and kept on walking until he reached Grant's home. He pushed the door open and pilfered his money and ammo crates. They weren't the right rounds for his pistols, but he could always sell them to someone who needed ammo cheap. The last thing he took was a small cup of instant ramen before vacating the area as a storm of high winds and thunder began to rain down on the main road. He didn't question it. He just kept moving.

(-)

Junior loosened his tie and undid the top button to his shirt. It was after hours and he was getting ready to shut down for the night. With a glass of warm scotch in his left hand and the other holding an old fashion windup watch, he contemplated his life for all but a fraction of a second. This was where he wanted to be in his life. Information was power. Power was everything. His father taught him that and that if you didn't have information to back your power you were as good as dead.

He snapped the golden case shut on the watch, sipped on his drink, and watched the lights begin to dim.

Hei loved to watch the lights slowly dim to nothing as the day was brought to a close. It gave him another aspect of time and a chance to reflect on everything he did that day.

His father had another saying that he never understood as a child. It wasn't even really a saying. His fondest memory of his dad was watching him walk through a door and suddenly becoming something else. As a child he thought he had a split personality, but as time went on and he grew older, he understood what it all meant. His father wasn't changing. He was letting all the stress of the day wash away and stay behind the door in the room he left. It was probably how doctors acted when they walked out of the hospital even if they failed to save a life that day.

Rather than walk out the door and change to a man that forgot his troubles at work, he chose to leave them behind as the lights dimmed and slowly shut off.

"Are you about ready to go?" Miltia's voice pulled Junior from his daydreaming about the past. He took another sip of his drink before nodding. She folded her arms under her bust as she waited for him to clean the cup he used. "You usually don't drink scotch on the end of the day. What's wrong?"

Junior turned the water on and glanced down at the lockbox. His mind returned to the young man that had gone to his death for that job. _Thirty-eight now,_ he mused silently to himself. The boy hadn't reported back and he hadn't gotten a phone call asking for the job to be pulled yet. "Nothing," he said sharply.

The water warmed and he began cleaning his cup. Miltia put a hand on his shoulder. He shrugged it off and went to drying it. In the dim lighting he examined the glass and for a split second saw his younger self doing the same thing. His father used to own the club, and then he inherited it from his father when he vanished. Junior had looked for him for a while but gave up. He wasn't sure if he was dead or alive. He didn't care either. Only a few good memories came from their time together.

Setting the cup down on the rack, he reached around and grabbed his coat before stepped around the bar. Melanie looked bored and ready to leave. Junior couldn't remember where he found them all those years ago. They just showed up one day and started working for him. Maybe the alcohol was really affecting him ton-

A ding sounded from behind the bar. The three turned slowly to find the cloaked figure from before glowering at the microwave.

Junior's left eye twitched as he sobered up and stormed towards him. "How did you get in? It's after hours!" He reached behind the bar and grabbed his oversized bat. He flipped a switch and it shifted to a bazooka.

"Why does it always take three minutes?" Naruto mused silently to himself, ignoring the three. He tapped his foot impatiently as he watched the timer take its slow time winding down. "At least I'm not out in the woods anymore. That took _way_ too long for me. Had to find water, make a fire, then boil the water, and only then could I really even eat the stuff after it set for about twenty minutes. Still… three minutes is just too long."

Melanie sighed and walked towards the bar, ready to throw out the ignorant man. "Hey! We're closed. So beat it."

Looking up from the timer, Naruto growled and sat some lien cards on the bar. Junior lowered his weapon and glanced at them. There was at least ten thousand lien right there on his bar. All of it offered up by the young man grumbling about time on a microwave for ramen.

Alright. He was intrigued by this.

Melanie caught the interaction between Junior and the unknown figure and sighed as a result. She didn't have time for this. She had a date with a hot bath back home and she wasn't going to waste those few hours soaking in the hot water and sweet soaps on some business deal.

"I'm going home," she told Junior in a dark voice. He nodded without paying any attention. "Come on, Miltia. Let's go home." The girl in red glanced back to Junior and then the unknown figure before complying with her twin sister.

No sooner had they left did the timer go off and Naruto pulled out a steaming cup of noodles. Junior sat his weapon down on the bar table and grabbed two glasses and a bottle of scotch. Naruto hopped the counter and sat down in the same spot he had earlier when Junior first saw him.

"So you survived your ordeal with him?" Naruto grabbed a remote and flicked a television on. Junior glanced up as he flipped through the channels until he found a news channel covering a fire. Hei could only listen in shock as they talked about the acts of one Grant Stone with a fire in the background. Footage of him being carted off in a body bag summed up the whole thing with mug shots from his life as a criminal some twenty years ago. "So he's dead? Real shame."

"Not really," Naruto confessed. He pulled his hood back and scratched at his spiky blond hair. "Atlas has been looking for him for years now. They gave up on the idea that he was alive some five years ago. The biggest known criminal hiding in plain sight. Acting as a farmer no less."

Hei nodded and poured the scotch for the two. He slid one to the blond as he blew on his steamy cup of ramen. Taking a sip of his drink, the bar owner blinked as a mental image of the blond from before came to his mind. His body was tense back then and his guard was always up. It was like he was waiting for some unseen attacker to present its self. But now he was relaxed, his words carried less weight and more joy. His gaze even seemed to soften. And the vibe he got from his was no longer some sort of "I'll kill you vibe," but rather something more akin to that of a prankster.

 _Smart kid,_ he mused as he downed the rest of his drink and refilled it. "You don't let work get the better of you, do you Uzumaki?" Naruto took a long sip from his drink and sat the cup down gently, an action that he noticed he did with his left arm. "Did you know what he was?"

"Grant?" Xiong nodded. Naruto looked thoughtful for a moment before he nodded. "His wanted posters have him from how he looked twenty years ago in my town. Never really could work outside Atlas, though." Naruto slurped up some of the ramen and then took another swig of the drink, finishing it in one gulp. Junior grabbed the bottle and filled it up again. "Thanks…" He took another pull on the drink and said, "Atlas couldn't come out here and get him because they didn't know where to look and me finding him was only by chance. Honestly, if I had known his full name I might not have killed him. James really wanted him to stand trial for those deaths all those years ago."

"But the seven year limitation was up. Those deaths happened twenty some odd years ago. Jimmy wouldn't be able to touch him without a new body showing up. And even then, the man was good about covering his tracks." The blond haired teen nodded silently. He slurped up some more ramen while Hei asked, "So why come to me for work? You were revoked from joining Atlas Academy on the grounds that you had just gotten a robotic limb to replace you lost left arm. So why not become one of them, rather than a mercenary?"

Naruto finished his ramen, an event that lasted a full four minutes, before he answered. "Do you know the truth of the world?" Junior scoffed and poured himself another glass. "Crime always pays. You can make us much money as you want, work all the late night shifts, get all the overtime in the world, and still you'd only make a fraction to a thug or a drug dealer. They make real money. But they run the risk of being caught in the act, thrown in jail, and even then, based on their crimes, may even get out if they have enough money. So the world is once again at their mercy. People like James will send his people out to stop them, keep them in check, and just be the people that we want them to be. But the reality is that even he is controlled by those same people he puts away. The council is even infected with."

"So you became a mercenary to hunt down evil doers?" Junior laughed at that. That was a teens' fantasy of a hero filled with blood, bullets, fame, and sex. It was a dream he once slept soundly with. He was the hero, his dad was the villain.

"No." Naruto picked up the cup and stared at it through the dim lighting of the club. "I do what I do because I want to see the worlds' response to what I do. What does the world say when someone stands against them in a fit of rage to their actions? The world is splintered, shattered like a mirror. We look at one line and see our reflection twice. We see two paths we can take and the world that follows each is a mystery we want answered, but we can only follow one true path. Do you know what that path is? It's happiness. We all want to be happy, so we follow the path that makes us happy."

"So you're on the path to happiness?" Junior downed his drink and poured himself another. Biblical talks were a bore. Moral beliefs were even worse. It took the fun right out of him when he had to start these talks. They were a step above political talks in his most hated things to discuss.

"Whether I find happiness at the end of it, isn't really an option. I just want answers." Naruto pulled out his scroll and slid it across to him. Junior picked it up and saw the same image of the man from before. "His name is Uchiha Sasuke. I'm looking for him."

"To kill him?"

A sly grin spread along Naruto's lips. His whisker mark, up closer observation, weren't whisker marks. They were scars. "I'm looking for him for my own reasons. Perhaps I'll tell you. But you have to find him first for me." He finished his drink and cracked his back. "I don't suppose you know a good hotel or something I can stay at, do you?"

Junior blinked slowly, the alcohol was affecting him more than he thought it would. "I can think of a few places," he confessed tiredly.

"Thanks, Hei." Junior chuckled and grabbed his coat while putting his bat up. "I'll follow you unless you wanna give me directions." Grumbling, he wrote them down on a card and gave it to him. "Thanks. I'll come by later this even to see about more work."

"If you're as good as you say you are, I hope you pull in lots." Naruto waved to him and Junior chuckled to himself. _Dad would be proud of me… I think._

A/N

So this is the first chapter in a Naruto RWBY story where these worlds are meshed together. I know this has sort of been done numerous times, but like I've always said, I write what I wanna read and to my knowledge and my thirty minutes of raiding the site for any story like this, I have turned up nothing; both on pairings, which I'm not going to disclose right now, and affiliations for Naruto. Other Naruto charctures will show up eventually, but for the time being, it's strictly Naruto. And as for a time line, this is just a bit before the series starts, going back to a few of the volume 1 trailers.

I also left Naruto partially obscured for his first appearance and toned down the whole fight because I have plans for him to show his stuff later. He's not super powerful, but as Roman would put it, he's a weird kid.


	2. Bullet to the Head

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A/N

This story is entirely fan-made and fictional. Any acts that you might find offensive, disguising, inhuman, wrong or just don't like, we are not liable for. You are reading this story of your own free will and not being forced, if you don't like something we are not forcing you to stay and read it. Please leave the page and re-frame from reading the chapter and or story. All Copyrighted Characters belong to their respect owners. We don't claim anything that is not our own creation and are merely using them for fan made material.

We accept constructive criticize and help but being rude and disrespectful will not be tolerated. This is done for the fun of writing not to make every little person happy, while making people happy with are stories is great we are not here for Money, Fame or Fortune this is done for the simply joy of writing.

Chapter 2

The report from the coronary had been methodically placed on Ozpin's desk some two hours ago beside a list of transcripts for entry to his academy, something he was still in the process of going over. Time was never truly on his side, but today it was a blessing to finally have some to reflect and ponder the hidden message of the report given to him. Most times he would ignore such things. But as a Headmaster of Beacon Academy and as a fellow Huntsman, it was his duty to do what was right when it was needed.

Slowly, he moved away from the window, a scene he enjoying staring out at, and back to his desk.

Ozpin opened the file and began looking over the report given to him by Glynda Goodwitch. Said woman was still in the room holding two more files. She had waited patiently for him to read the first.

Granite William Stone. Native to Atlas. Age: sixty-four. Known rapist, murderer, thief, and revolutionist. Fought in the Faunus Rights Revolution. Cause of death: two 9mm rounds to the chest. Pierced the hearth and collapsed the left lung. Dead on sight.

Slowly, Ozpin shut the file and motioned for the next. Glynda slowly put it down and backed away as he opened it up. It was the forensics on the bullets used to kill Granite. Finger prints were pulled from the rounds and a match was found. The second page had the image of a young man in a white and grey Atlas academy uniform. He had blond spiky hair, sapphire blue eyes, and three scar-like whiskers along his cheeks.

Flipping to the next page, Ozpin shook his head.

Naruto Uzumaki. Native to Atlas. Age: eighteen. Known mercenary. Responsible for two known murders in Atlas. High combat skills in hand-to-hand and mid-range. Wields a pair of 9mm pistols. Graduated from Hi Academy at age sixteen. Applied for Atlas Academy and was revoked do to not fully completed physical therapy for his new left arm. Semblance: Redacted. Status: MIA. Wanted for murder.

Ozpin shut it and took the third file from Glynda. He opened it up and saw the same boy from the other file. It was a medical file detailing the surgery he had gone under to get his new arm. The accident wasn't listed either. Most of his files were blacked out copies. The originals were locked away somewhere safe in Atlas, probably next to the brandy James loved so much.

"We have to let James know that he's here," Glynda informed him.

Ozpin turned his chair around and faced the window. His eyes hardened as he looked over the city. _Why is he here?_ He got to his feet and walked towards the window. His hands behind his back, he looked down at the city and slowly shut his eyes. He remembered reading about Naruto's accomplishments. Students from Hi Academy sent requests to join Beacon as well as many others. Naruto had sent his to Ozpin as well, but the medical condition he had prevented him from joining any Academy until he completed his physical therapy. Either fed up with being turned down or something else entirely, he left and disappeared for two years. Not even Qrow reported seeing him.

James had wanted so badly to argue with the council that Naruto was ready and that he could handle the situation with his arm. But they refused him at every turn. Naruto had been a shoe-in for his Specialist Operation Unit. He was trained by three of their best in honor of his late father.

And now he was here, murdering a murderer.

"Let's not make any rash judgments," he finally told her. He slowly turned and faced her. "We don't know fully that it was him. And even if it was, there is nothing to report him as a murderer for no reason."

"But murder is murder."

"True. And whilst he did murder someone here, there is evidence of foul play." He went back to the first file and flipped through it again. He touched the paper and read it out loud to her while following it with his finger as if he were pointing it out for her. "A sawed off double-barrel shotgun was found near the main road with two rounds recently being fired. Gun residue was found on Granite's hand and arm."

Glynda didn't flinch. She was standing by her statement.

"I believe we must try to find him and figure out what happened."

"But how do we do that? He disappeared for two years. No one knew he was alive."

Ozpin turned back to the window and inhaled deeply as he watched the sun slowly begin to set in the distance as the darkness of twilight began to creep around the corner. The stars could barely be seen in the night sky amidst the orange and yellows and reds cast by the dying light of the sun over their sky. "I don't know how we'll find him. But," he grabbed his cane and gave her a wiry smile, "I do believe it's time for bed. I do so hate having to look over transcripts while my mind is focused elsewhere without my warming cup of caffeine," and then walked towards the elevator. Glynda huffed in annoyance to his antics. He was going to milk this and see where it went.

(-)

The furious pounding on the door did little to detour Naruto from his usual rituals upon waking. He flipped through the news on his scroll, looking for any information on what else people had dug up on Granite. Sadly, there was nothing new to report but there was mention of man seen fleeing the main road with an unconscious woman in his arms. The man had gone by too fast for the camera crew to get a look at him, but it was left to speculations on why he carried a woman away and who the mystery woman was.

The pounding on the door got louder and Naruto finally relented. He cleaned up, grabbed a shirt, and walked to the door, throwing it open and being forced to look down at a woman he'd seen at the bar. He didn't catch her name. She had a white frilly dress on and sported a choker. High heels with blades on the end of them completed the picture with long black hair and pale skin.

"Junior wants to talk to you," she said with a hiss.

Naruto turned and grabbed his scroll.

"You never gave him your number." She added hotly. It was beyond clear that she didn't like being a messenger for anyone. Whatever she was at the bar was different to what she was now and it clearly was something she liked. Maybe he could have used one of the other people there, but given how easily they frightened they might not exactly be able to give a message either. "Do you always sleep in this late?"

"Are you always wearing the same dress?"

She stepped into his room without getting permission and looked around. Naruto paid her no mind as he grabbed a duffle bag and pulled out some clothes to wear. He slept in his boxers. Having already showered beforehand, he was quick to grab some black pants and a white undershirt.

The white dressed girl looked him over with disdain. His fox tail drooped as though it was unhappy with something, but her eyes only danced around the furry appendage for a second, instead landing on a line of scars that went all across his back. He looked like someone had played tic-tac-toe across his back multiple times and a victor was never decided. But the worst was at his left shoulder where metal met flesh. Two strips of metal were bolted to his collar bone and smoothed down to where they had almost allowed flesh to grow over them. A joint connected the metal arm to his shoulder and showed signs of age and constant removal. The arm itself was nothing to truly right home about. It was a step up from the Atlas Robots that they gave out for security, but it was clearly military in design with the sleek form and no gape left protected.

His left hand had obviously been damaged in his fight against Granite, if the tiny dings and scratches were anything to report on. But even then, the platting around the hand had sufficed enough to stop it from doing any real damage that would impede any form of movement or combat effectiveness.

Truly, Atlas was a Kingdom of Progression.

"What does Junior want to talk about?"

The teen snapped from her train of thoughts on the Kingdom of Progression to turn away from him while answering. "You're a partner of his now. He accepts your skill and your payment. He has another potential job for you if you decide to accept it." Naruto threw on a long sleeved orange shirt over his white undershirt and grabbed a belt with a pair of holsters for his pistols on the side. "We open at eight in the afternoon, but it was required for _all_ personal to show up at seven. You would be wise to remember that."

"Cool, but I don't work for him." Naruto slipped his belt on and grabbed his twin pistols. He did a quick check to make sure both magazines were filled before holstering them. He grabbed two more clips and belted them in a small pouch. "I work _with_ him. There's a difference unless he missed the message last night… or this morning. Whichever of the two time frames you like, I guess." He turned around and grabbed an orange and black jacket with more black than orange. "So what are you? His concubine?"

Her leg lashed out and grazed his cheek. A small drip of blood slipped over the blade. Her eyes were narrowed as she slowly moved her leg away from his face. "I'm his bodyguard."

Grinning, Naruto shook his head. "So you're eye candy, then." He walked past her, dodging her next attack that would have slit his throat if he hadn't moved. "That's cute. I assume you have a ride to get us there?" Lowering her leg, she stormed out of the room. Naruto locked up and got beside her in a flash. "So you wear all white all the time, right?" She picked up her pace as if trying to escape him. The grin never left his face. "So why do you wear red panties?"

She stopped and kicked at him again. This time Naruto caught her leg with his right hand and smiled at her.

Her face flushed red as she saw where his gaze had gone. In a fit of rage she jumped with her other leg and kicked him square in the side of the head, releasing her in the process. She flipped through the air like a gymnast and landed gracefully on both feet.

Naruto applauded mockingly as he said, "Beautiful landing. But I still managed to see your red panties. Why a thong, though?"

She grit her teeth and stormed towards a waiting limo. Naruto got in and was in front of her and stared at her for the first two minutes of their ride to Junior's Club. She looked out the window the entire way, unhappy to be in his presence. She tapped a button on the door and the window behind Naruto closed.

The driver wouldn't be able to hear them now.

"I don't like you."

"I don't even know you."

Her eyes narrowed into tiny slits. "The only reason Junior even wants to speak to you is because you might actually be worth something to him. He likes people with talent. This is why he hired me and my twin sister." Naruto opened his mouth but her heel got dangerously close to his nuts and decided to keep it shut for the time being. "Junior likes you for your talent, and I'll grant him that one, Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto smiled and leaned his head against his open hand. "You were a shoe-in for the Atlas Specialist Operation Unit when you graduated. You are _still_ a shoe-in for it. But you opted out and disappeared for two years. You're combat abilities are supposedly very high, as you have never been beaten in combat before. You excel at mid-range combat as well and have an accuracy of eighty-nine percent with your pistols at about five hundred meters away. You are wanted for two confirmed murders in Atlas and will most likely be wanted for the murderer of Grant."

He clapped and nodded. "Well done," he praised. He stopped clapping and leaned forward, grabbing her heel before she could kick him. His grip tightened enough that he saw her face flush with pain momentarily. "Except that my accuracy and range is overrated by gossip, my combat skills are as good as they come for my upbringing, and I never beat all of my opponents. I've lost to too many people before I got as good as I am. I only got as good as I am today by getting absolutely wrecked in the ring during those mock fights. And even then, I was receiving combat training from three other people, all of which could beat me with their eyes closed, both hands tied behind their back, and hoping on one foot. I have never, to this day, beaten those three trainers I had. And if I compare my current self to the me of back then, they would only stop hoping and still beat me, Melanie Malachite."

Naruto released her ankle and she gave him a withering glare.

"I was trained to be a Specialist. So I _do_ know your _names_. That's how I found Xiong. My information gathering skills may not be the best, but I'm not _too_ bad at it when it's required of me. I just might take a little bit longer and go to the _teacher_ for aid."

"Well," she leaned forward, her chin resting on one hand while the other drew the window back down for the driver, "I do hope we can _work_ together in this business venture."

"I would _love_ nothing more than that."

Leaning back against the soft seats, they fell into a deep silence as they watched the other for the duration of the trip.

(-)

"You're late."

Melanie had a look triumph on her face at hearing those words. She knew they weren't directed at her. Not in the slightest. But rather they were directed to the unsavory blond that she had totted around the city in an attempt to get back to the club. He was chatting it up with one of the many goons that Junior had in his thrall. Whatever they were talking about was getting the man to be a little worried if the sweat pouring down the side of his face was an indication.

"Sorry," Naruto said softly, patting the man he was previously speaking to on the shoulder. "I didn't get to the hotel until five this morning and didn't sleep until about seven. A man such as me needs his beauty rest."

Junior furrowed his brow and did the math quickly on the amount of hours he'd slept. "You slept for eleven hours," he told him harshly. Naruto had a smug look on his face at the proclamation of time. Junior stepped around the bar, talking to another man for a moment and then motioning for the three teens to follow him. "We can talk in private over here."

Naruto stuck his hands in his pockets and followed quietly. Melanie might have been grumbling as she was dragged along into the back room. Junior shut the door once they were in and sat down at a small table. The two girls stood at attention while the blond sat down in front of Junior.

"I have another job for you."

"You're little messenger girl in red told me," he thumb-jabbed in the direction of Melanie. Her face twisted into a form of rage hardly seen by anyone while her sister looked on in confusion. Junior seemed to grasp the hidden meaning behind his words and cough to get thing back on track.

"Right. The job I have for you is a test of sorts. All you need to do is what I tell you to, and I'll know you're on my level."

Naruto leaned forward and tilted his head just enough to show interest. "Go on."

 _There it is,_ Hei mused silently. Naruto was no longer the man that had walked through the door as a goofy, laid back person. Now he was serious. His body was tensed, his eyes seemed more focused than before, and a vibe he could only describe as power radiated from him. Naruto was back to the same man from last night when he showed up looking for a job. He would do nicely if he passed this test.

Grabbing a photo from his pocket, Junior slid it over to him. Naruto peered down at the photo as Junior said, "He owes me money. In fact he owes me a lot of money. The sleaze bag worked a nightshift a few months back, stole the earnings for that day from me. I want them back." Naruto picked up the photo and looked at it for a long time. "You can find him on the southeast side of town. The cops in that area are the good ones. We couldn't pay them off even if we tried." Naruto stood up and pocketed it.

"So you want me to get the money and kill 'em?"

"No." Junior got to his feet, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "I'd like you to mess him up for me, but not kill him. The man has information on my dealings. If you can put the fear of Oum into him, I'm okay with it. But otherwise, just take the money, come back, and we're all set."

"Dead men don't talk."

"Corpses talk."

Conceding to that, Naruto nodded and accepted his job. "Payment?"

"The man had a lot of money. I've been able to keep tabs on him and know how much he's spent. He should still have a fair portion of it saved up. He's too worried about banks to leave his money there. I'll give you thirty percent of it if you can complete this job. I'll give you an extra ten percent if you rough him up."

"How rough can I get?"

"Don't kill him."

Naruto cracked his neck and turned towards the door. "If I make him disappear, does that count as killing him?"

"I'll know if he's dead."

Nodding quietly, the blond opened the door and left.

"He's going to kill him," Melanie told her boss.

Junior got up and walked to the bar. The two girls followed him. He poured himself a drink and downed it quickly. "No he's not." He looked around and found another man heading his way wearing a white coat and had orange hair. "He's probably already dead." He finished another drink and looked to the man that had shown up.

(-)

Naruto peered through his binoculars with a scowl on his face. The apartment was two blocks away and his vantage point left a lot to be desired. For what he could see the place was currently shut down for the night. His target was most likely already asleep in warm bed.

Oum knew how much he missed beds. He didn't get to sleep on those much during the last two years.

Dressed back in his clothing from the other day, he was battle ready. He put away his binoculars and dropped from the vantage point to the ground. In a few short minutes he was on top of the door with his back to the wall. He reached for the knob and stopped short as he saw the signs of forced entry. Withdrawing a pistol, slowly he touched the knob and pulled. The door opened without a sound.

The Faunus closed his eyes momentarily and counted down from three as he stuck his head inside and found the place a mess. He returned the door to how he found it and withdrew the second pistol as he moved from room to room. Each room was a treasure trove of destruction. There were signs of a struggle. A bloody handprint was perfectly formed on a wall with tears of red sliding down from it.

Naruto's nose twitched at the smell as he pushed open the door the handprint was made beside and found a small bedroom with the bed turned over, pillows shredded, and a desk broken in half. Clothes were scattered along the ground. A pool of fresh blood was on the carpet. He avoided it and moved to the last room in the bedroom: the bathroom. The door had been busted down and another handprint was on the back of the shower wall, followed by three lines to the side of it. In the bathtub were two women with bullet holes in their chests. One had a look of surprise on her face and her left hand was missing three fingers, most likely blown off

The mercenary holstered one of his pistols and started rummaging through the rooms for any clue on what happened. Underneath some clothes he found a small shard of refined dust. He pocketed the purple crystal and continued looking for anything until he found a piece of white and red broken porcelain on the ground. A small speck of blood was on the other side of it.

 _White Fang?_

Standing up, he left the apartment and vacated the area to return to Junior and tell him the news.

Naruto paused and glanced at the top of the apartment complex and narrowed his eyes at a shadow that darted across the rooftops before he turned away and started heading to Junior's. _Are you watching me now?_ He closed his eyes and scowled. _I'll deal with you later._ He huffed and continued on his way in silence.

(-)

" _He's in your city, Ozpin. Don't play games with me! Not right now!"_

Ozpin kept his form composed, his fingers laced together, and his eyes firmly focused on the man in front of him on the line. There was a need to know basis, and then there was a _need to know basis_. It was a cruel thing how people could word something so strangely similar with just a different tone. It was mind destroying in his eyes, but right now James needed to know what the situation was.

"James," he spoke softly, dangerously even, as he leaned forwards, his hands coming close to his face to conceal the twitch of irritation that tugged at the corners of his lips, "We don't have proof of him being in Vale just yet. If he _is_ here, know that I will personally contend with him. But as it stands right now, we have no proof of him even being in the city. We don't even know if this is the same person. For all we know, this is someone with his guns or ammo. He's been MIA for two years. No one has seen him or heard from him in that time. Not even Qrow has turned anything up on him."

James blinked once at the mention of that name. His composure didn't change. His shoulders were squared, his jaw tightened. If Ozpin was there, he figured James might hit him for his words. James was clearly not thinking rationally. Military might and a need for justice was the only thing coursing through his mind. Whether right or wrong, Naruto had murdered two people in Atlas and had never been arrested for his crimes.

"Furthermore," Ozpin made sure to interrupt him when it was clear he was about to speak, "if he is in Vale, then it is my choice to do with him what I desire."

" _You can't be serious!"_

"James!" Ozpin shut his eyes and for a moment his mind cleared to a state of pure emptiness. "Vale is out of your jurisdiction. You have no power here. Naruto, if he is even here, is not guilty of any crimes. To make things even worse, if he is here, that might mean he's here for a reason, other than your theory that he's escaping custody."

" _Ozpin, I support your choices in all of this, but you have to face facts. Naruto is a killer. He needs to come in and go through trial."_

Ozpin opened his eyes and tapped on his scroll, a gesture that James didn't see. A moment later he brought up the two victims Naruto had put down in Atlas. James saw it as well on his end. His eyes momentarily softened at the sight of their mangled bodies.

"James, let me ask you something and be honest with me. Atlas was under Grimm attack on a scale you hadn't seen since your rise to Headmaster. The attack was put down, yes, but in the process a lot of people lost their lives. These two victims were indeed killed by his bullets, as eye witnesses saw him shoot them in the head. But they had other wounds, General. Was this a mercy kill to spare them of their pain?"

James shut his eyes. _"…He_ needs _to come in and stand trial, Ozpin… Please… trust_ me _with this…"_

"I'm not saying it was wrong or right. But if they are victims of that, if they truly were so horribly hurt that nothing could save them, why save them at all?" His voice was so quiet that James barely heard his question. He didn't need to. It was one of the greatest moral questions anyone could ask. Doctors did it all the time, but they asked the patients family. Even then, those families could split with the answer. It was a terrible and dark thing.

Taking a deep breathe, Ozpin closed the images down and looked to his fellow Headmaster. "James, I'm begging you to trust me with this. If he is here, I will handle him carefully. Besides, he deserves a chance to explain his actions. No matter what you think of him, know that you weren't there. You didn't see what he saw. None of us did."

James was quiet for a long time before he said, _"I'll be in touch,"_ and closed the call.

Ozpin turned around in his chair and exhaled a breath he didn't know he was holding. His scroll buzzed across the desk. Grabbing it up, a message appeared on the front of it in bold letters.

FOUND HIM

(-)

"The White Fang have him."

Naruto hadn't been in the club for more than a minute before he was grabbed up Melanie and pulled into the back room where Junior waited for him with a glass of something strong. He was looking at his scroll as a news feed covered the mysterious break in at the apartment Naruto had gone to. Luckily the cops hadn't arrived until after Naruto had left. The tip came from a next door neighbor that reported seeing signs of a struggle when a gust of wind blew the door open to the target's home. Now the media was trying to get information and talk about the unsettling rise in crime that they were trying to link to this.

"You couldn't have called me?" Naruto asked plainly. He was little miffed to not have all the information on the man he was sent to steal from. If he had just a little more information he might have known to hightail it to the place and grab what was needed before they showed up.

"I don't have your number, smartass." Junior took a shot from the drink and waved his earlier comment off when Naruto whipped out his scroll to read off his number. "Forget it. I'll get it later when we have time to do this. The fool put his money in a bank account. Seems he knew what he was getting in to and wised up. If the White Fang have him, they won't be able to off him until he gives up the information."

"Which I'm assuming would be sooner rather than later?"

"No." Junior put his scroll down and showed the bank account in questions' standings. It hadn't dropped at all. "The man might be a wimp, but he's got a problem with remembering finer details when needed. I can pull the money right now if I wanted to, but now I need you to grab him up and bring him to me. If the White Fang have him, they can get information out of him that is rather important to me. I like my information to remain with me."

"What sort of information could this low level goon have?" Naruto folded his arms. Junior stubbornly stayed quiet. "I'm going to need more money to grab him. I did the first job, but you clearly were testing me. So I expect payment for that. **This** is a whole different thing."

"Scared of the White Fang?" Melanie asked in a mocking voice. "I thought you Faunus all worked for them anyways."

Turning slowly, Naruto scratched at his nose while saying, "Not all of us are with them, Red." Militia looked between the two and then Junior before rolling her eyes. "Some of us hate them just as much as you do, if not more so." He turned back to Junior. "Do you have an idea on where they'd hold him?"

"I can think of a few places," he confessed. Naruto wrote down a number and put on top of his scroll. "You're number?"

"I might know one place they could hold him. It's secure and out of the way. But if I'm wrong, I want you to find him with your leads and tell me where to go. I'm not that greatest at getting information out of people, but when push comes to shove, I can get what I need through…questionable methods." He walked out the door.

Junior plugged the number into his scroll and then looked at it funny. "Is something wrong?" Miltia asked carefully.

Hei snapped from his stupor and shook his head. "Everything is fine. Let's go back out there and entertain our guests."

(-)

"Hey, Patch, don't go dying on us. You haven't given us your account number yet."

Patch smiled through bloody teeth as his head wobbled back and forth in his seat as the van hit every bump it could on their drive.

Edward grimaced and left him with another one of the members as he moved to the front seat. "Not talking?" his female driver asked. Edward glanced back at the man with a shake of his head. "How are we going to get the money from him? We already have the dust. Why are we taking the money?"

"We gotta eat too," he told her plainly. She looked worryingly towards him for a moment before putting her eyes back on the dirt road. "You just joined three months ago, right?" She nodded slowly. "It's gets easier if you see them as monsters too." He confessed.

"How long have you been in?"

Edward rubbed his chin in thought. "It's been so long that I don't remember when I joined. I think I was born into it. I'm not sure anymore."

"Edward, he's starting to pass out."

The masked man got up and moved back to the speaker, grabbing a medical box along the way. They had gotten him by accident. If the man survived tonight it'd be impressive. Edward didn't think he had more than a couple of hours left in him. Without getting a blood transfusion or real medical treatment, he was sure to be dead soon. They'd done the best they could with what they had.

It had all gone sideways as soon as they entered his room. The plan was that they would kidnap him in his sleep, take him back to their base to get what they wanted, and then throw him to the Grimm. But he had two girls there and they foiled that plan. One of the new recruits got scared, popped off a couple rounds, killed the girls and shot Patch in then shoulder. Murder wasn't something new to him. Edward lost count a long time ago on how many people he killed. He stopped caring somewhere around fifteen.

The only reason Patch became a target was because of his money and his dust. He invested too much into the Schnee Company, favored having it in his room as some sort of perverse hording method. He didn't trust banks supposedly. But that was thrown out the window when they didn't find any of the cash they were aiming to steal. Adam would be furious if they didn't come back with the cash. A need to eat was far out weighing the dust, which they could turn around and sell, but it would force questions that they didn't want to answer to arise from their buyers. Dust was hard to trace but it wasn't impossible.

Now they had a bleeding man in the back of their van as they moved through the city to get to the outskirts of town where they could do what they wanted to him and leave him for dead. People went missing all the time. Grimm were usually to blame. It'd be hard to pin this on them, but they could still do it. And even then, the authorities would have to pin this on them to begin with. He made sure that there was no evidence left behind to link them to the two deaths and the grab. The only true evidence they could grab from this would be the money transfer, but with so many people backing them, even that would be kind of hard when they had bank accountants in their organization.

Grabbing some gauze and some painkillers, he slapped them on his wound and applied pressure. "You aren't allowed to die until _after_ we get what we want." He applied more pressure and Patch screamed as Edwards' nails dug into the bullet wound. "Now tell us the account number."

Gasping for air, he threw his head back. "I don't remember it…" he told him through gasps for air.

Edward snorted and moved back to the front of the van. "How far out are we?"

The driver looked at her scroll and towards a small dot that showed where she was and then the time to the destination. "Another te-"

The front right tire exploded. The wheel spun to the right and she jerked hard on it to try and get control. She smashed the brake pedal to the floor. Edward reached over after being flung hard against the door and grabbed the wheel to help stable it out. They came to a screeching halt and the other members of the team jumped out of the back with their weapons up. Edward huffed and checked on Patch. He sobered up rather quickly from that and looked around in a panicked state.

"What happened?" Edward asked as he exited. "Someone watch him." The driver moved to the back and pulled out a small dagger. Patch looked from the dagger to her and whimpered in fear. Edward looked around van and grimaced. "Damn… We blew a tire."

"How?" someone asked.

Edward glanced down the road and questioned it as well. He could see the skid marks and there was nothing that would have done it. He checked the tire again and looked at it funny. A small hole was in the _side_ of the tire. He touched it gently as if hoping it would speak to him before standing up and looking around. He moved to one of his men and jerked his chin in the other direction. He disappeared behind some rundown houses. He gave the some order to another gun wielding White Fang member.

Stepping inside the van, he grabbed Patch and hauled him outside and tossed him at the ground where he hit with a loud cry of pain. Dropping down beside him, he withdrew a nasty looking revolver and pulled the hammer back. "Pick him up," he ordered. The driver grabbed him and jerked him to his feet. "One last chance to tell us the account number."

Shaking from the fall, he closed one eye and whimpered. "I don't remember it. I had it written down on a piece of paper and then you guys trashed the place while I was-" Edward fired once into the air and pointed the gun at his forehead. The round would blow clean through if he shot him. Patch could see himself as a dead man soon. Whimpering, he grounded out, "I don't know what my account number is." Through gritted teeth.

"He's not lying." Edward looked up and smiled. The others turned and pointed their swords and daggers at the speaker. Edward turned his head slowly to see a cloaked figure with a pistol raised and aimed at his head. "It's been a while, Edward. How goes the family?"

"Uzumaki," he breathed out. He pulled the hammer back on his gun. Naruto smiled at him and released the safety on his pistol. "Do you really intend to save him?"

"From you? I'm going to try. My boss sort of wants him back."

"Please kill me," Patch begged.

Edward ignored him and shook his head. "What have you become? You were there with us for a year and then you just – poof – disappear. What happened? Get cold feet? Adam send you out on some sort of terrible job of unspeakable suffering?"

"No." Naruto slowly pulled out his other pistol. His expression never changed and his actions were slow and deliberate. "I didn't join you guys. I never met Adam. You saved me in passing, remember? I was hurt, you were there, you took pity on me."

"I brought you to our base."

"Yes." The blond nodded. "Yes you did. And then that base was raided. I don't know why you did what you did. To be clear, I never needed your help. I was fine on my own."

"You were shot."

"I get shot a lot. It sort of goes without saying that that's part of the job of being a soldier, terrorist, huntsman, or mercenary." Edward nodded sadly to that. Naruto took a deep breath and shook his head. "Let him go. My boss is a lot scarier than your boss. He knows things that will make topple your little group." He looked past the taller Faunus and towards the smaller one. She had a chip in her mask. "How long have you been a member?"

Edward glanced back at her and nodded. This standoff was going to end soon. It was best to humor the blond until his brothers were in position. "Three months," she answered him.

"Three months, huh? Have you killed anyone yet?" She shook her head. "Well if things don't go how they're supposed to here, you'll see people die tonight." He took aim with the second pistol, pointing it off to the side and slightly elevated. "I know that my rounds aren't going to go straight through aura shields, but how many of them actually have unlocked that, Edward? Did you give them vests?"

Grinding his teeth he pulled the hammer back on his revolver and gave him a warning look. "I will shoot him, Uzumaki."

"You haven't unlocked your aura yet. You told me that. I even offered to assist you because I didn't know who you were. But you told me you wanted to be like your dad. You wanted to be someone stronger than him and take what you wanted and gave nothing back. So unless you managed to get it, which to my information, you haven't, you won't survive one bullet to the head. So let him go. And walk away. No one has to die tonight."

"This man does after he gives me the account number." Naruto's smile grew. Edward began pulling the trigger and Naruto's smile faltered. Death seemed to pass by in his eyes and he shuddered for a moment, faltering and feeling something cold overtaking him. Naruto began tapping his foot and his head turned just enough to make it sound like he was listening. Edward pulled his finger off the trigger and raised the pistol above his head before lowering it. "Why do you say your boss is scarier than ours?"

"Information is power. Power is everything in this world. But if you lack information and have only power, your _power_ will only take you so far. His boss, the one he ran out on and stole money from, wants him back. To do what with him, I don't know. But I do know that if you kill him, I get to kill all of you. Only three of you have guns. I can hit the one hiding behind the trashcan right now and it'll be a clean shot through his skull. The other one, well," he wiggled his hand that was pointing the gun at Edward, "is sort of busy at the moment."

The standoff lasted another ten grueling minutes before Edward holstered his pistol, grabbed the man, and threw him to the fox Faunus feet.

"Get out of here, Patch. Go back to Junior. I'll follow shortly. Don't even try to escape. I know how to find you." Patch ran as fast as his legs would carry him. Naruto glanced over his shoulder once to see which direction he ran before he lower his pistols. "I'd tell you to be careful and not take other peoples' toys, but that would make me a hypocrite. So I'll simply tell you," he looked the little Faunus driver, "get out while you still can before the storm hits."

"And if I don't?" she asked, dagger clasped in both hands.

Naruto pulled his hood up over his head and offered a sad smile. "Then you're going to get washed away by the storm. It's better to suffer through life than it is to drown in it. And I'd rather not see such a beautiful woman drown, Lala Minene." The dagger fell from her hand as she gasped. "I'll see you all around one day. Hopefully you'll all back out."

"What's to say we don't shoot you in the back right now?" Naruto paused and glanced at the speaker. Edward slowly reached for his revolver.

Naruto pursed his lips and looked thoughtful before he continued on. "My boss will end you. My boss will hunt you down to the ends of the Remnant, find you, skin you, and then when everyone you love is dead, then you will have permission to die." He started walking with his hands in his pockets. He disappeared as sirens started to sound.

"We can run to the nearest safe house," someone said. Edward nodded mutely.

"How did he know my name?" Lala asked.

 _Yeah… good question._ "I don't know," he told her truthfully. He grabbed his chainsaw from the truck and ran with them. _How did you know where we were going to be?_ He thought back to the bullet hole and shook his head. _That kind of hole is too small for his pistol to make. Someone else had to have fired the shot._ He kept running until he was at the safe house.

"Did you get the money?" Edward glanced up and spied a girl with black hair wearing a bow on the top of her head. He shook his head. "Adam isn't going to be happy about this."

"I know." He glanced behind him to his unit. Lala was still shaken up by Naruto's words and how he called her name out. _How did he know her name? Does he know all of our names?_

(-)

"Junior! Please! Let me explain!" Patch winced as Junior put his boot in the bullet wound and then kicked him in the gut.

The club was empty. The only occupants were Junior, the twins, Naruto, and Patch. The man bled on the ground and whimpered through his beating. Junior was not pleased to see him again and showed it in his furious beating of the man. He cried on the ground and didn't have the strength to even curl up into the fetal position from the force of the kicks.

"You stole from me! There is nothing to explain!" Hei grabbed his bat and clubbed him hard in the left arm. There was a sickening crack of bones busting. Patch cried out and pleaded, but Junior ignored him, favoring the crying more than the words of forgiveness. "You have exactly two seconds to transfer all of your money to me, or so help me…" He reached out and Melanie handed him a pocket knife, "I will cut you into tiny pieces and throw you in the trash." He stepped off him and handed him a scroll to make the transaction.

Patch hastily grabbed up the device and began doing as he was told.

Naruto slurped up his ramen with gusto, ignoring the entire thing as he ate happily on another cup of ramen. Miltia turned away from the gruesome scene and walked around the bar to grab a drink for herself. "Can I get some water?" Naruto asked her. She paused and eyed him strangely. He smiled towards her. She grabbed a second cup and filled it with water. "Than-" She poured it on his head and he giggled. "I guess you don't serve water to anyone, huh?"

"Nope," she confessed. "So what do you want?"

"How about a good beer? You pick."

"Aren't you a little underage?"

"I'm already a mercenary, I've killed people, and I travel the world by myself, enjoying the company of others at times." His smile was disarming. She rolled her eyes and let a grin tug at the corners of her lips. She turned around and started going through the list of beers they had on tap until she got to one and eyed him strangely for a moment, as if she was judging him on his appearance, then filled the mug and sat it down in front of him. "I've never had one that wasn't dark…"

"First time for everything."

Nodding, he took a sip and his tail went rigid. Pulling it away from his lips he looked at and then her. "Not bad… You got me. What is it?"

"I don't know," she lied. He laughed. She poured herself some red wine and sipped on it. Her eyes danced over to Junior and her sister as they spoke more heatedly with Patch. Naruto had long since tuned them out in favor of eating his ramen. "Why did you become a mercenary?"

"Why did you become a bodyguard for a bad man?" Her face twisted into a look of annoyance. Her features still looked soft as ever and it only made her seem more like a porcelain doll. He traced the top of the mug with his index finger, a thoughtful gracing his face. "I became a mercenary because I didn't care enough to be the good guy. I learned early on that you either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain. I would rather be the middle man. The one who will make the choices no one wants to make. A huntsman will only be able to do so much. Their responsibility is the safety of the world from the Grimm and terrorists. But with all the rules and regulations and finer red tape out there, it makes things hard for people of," he paused to look up and squint his eyes, "legitimate businesses to get their merchandise from one place to another."

"So you're basically a scab." She scoffed and drank some more.

"Work is work. My top priority is my safety and then maybe the person sitting next to me." He winked and took another long pull from his beer. Miltia tilted her head and then looked over at Junior as he hauled Patch to his feet and pointed to the door.

"Get out! And you better show up for work tomorrow! If you don't, I will find you, and I will put a bullet in your head!" Patch scampered away as fast as his little legs could carry him. Fixing his tie, he shook his head, muttering, "Bastard child," as he walked around the bar and grabbed himself a drink. "I really hate kids. Makes me glad I don't have any."

"He's twenty-two." Naruto deadpanned.

"He's still younger than me and he's still a bastard child." Junior finally loosened his tie and undid the top two buttons to his shirt. The man took a long sip from his drink and then looked at the fox Faunus. "Why do you eat ramen?"

"Why do you have two teenage girls as your bodyguards?" Junior rolled his eyes and decided to drop _that_ subject. "So the payment?" He fiddled with his scroll for a moment. Naruto's scroll jingled and he checked it. "Wiring the money? Really? So much for none traceable."

"I have accounts in the other Kingdoms." Naruto rolled his eyes. Unless he was going to hack his way through all the legal bullshit, he just might have made things harder in the long run. "I can explain it as a business loan. What you do with the money is up to you." Naruto shrugged and slurped up the rest of the contents before taking a long pull from his mug. "I've done my research on you."

"Oh?" Naruto asked, his lips still pressed to the mug.

"You are wanted for two murders in Atlas. There are speculations that you're responsible for a lot more. But you let yourself get caught in the act killing two people. Why?"

Licking his lips, the blond tapping the top of the bar with his robotic hand and said, "They were the first two people I killed. I thought I'd be cool and try to send a message to the world that I was defying them. Can't say I thought that out too well. But it doesn't matter. They can't get me here and I don't have any intention of going back to Atlas. There's nothing for me."

"But why kill them? Why those two?"

"Did you see the bodies?"

"I heard you put a bullet in both their heads."

Nodding slowly, he got up and finished his beer. "I put one round in their chest and then another in their head. James taught me to police the wounded. Said it was the smart thing to do." He grabbed his cloak and threw it over his shoulder. "I'll be back tomorrow at seven thirty sharp." He waved to them as he stepped out the door.

Melanie grabbed a glass of wine from her sister and looked at the door with a scowl on her face. "He calls himself a mercenary, but he's just a gun for hire. An outlaw. That's all he is."

Miltia's brow furrowed and she finished her glass of wine. "I'm going home and taking a hot bubble bath." Melanie finished her drink and followed her sister out the door. Junior looked down at his cup and finished her drink and then washed it. He closed up shop and fished out his fathers' old gold watch.

 _Outlaw, mercenary, gun for hire… Whatever he wants to call himself, he's good in my book._ He inhaled the cold air and then started walking, leaving his car at the bar. He had to go see someone.

During the night Patch died from his gunshot wound. He wasn't reported missing for a week and wasn't found until a foul smell came from a hotel room and a cleaning lady found his corpse nearly two months later. With the corpse being in such a terrible state and no bullet to pull finger prints from, the case was never solved.


	3. A Reason to Reason With

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A/N

This story is entirely fan-made and fictional. Any acts that you might find offensive, disguising, inhuman, wrong or just don't like, we are not liable for. You are reading this story of your own free will and not being forced, if you don't like something we are not forcing you to stay and read it. Please leave the page and re-frame from reading the chapter and or story. All Copyrighted Characters belong to their respect owners. We don't claim anything that is not our own creation and are merely using them for fan made material.

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Chapter 3

"This looks good."

"I hate it."

"Deal with it."

A back forth of between Naruto and Melanie was inevitable at this point again. Two months of working together and it had finally happened: Naruto needed to get new clothes. He needed new clothes for two reasons. The first reason was because he wore the same thing almost every other day of the week. He had four sets of cloths that he got by with. He did laundry every fourth day. Now his clothes looked like moths had gotten into them and aside from the occasional bloodstain that they had started to develop, they were really leaving a lack luster feel to his "Mercenary" gig.

The other, and most important reason, was that he worked _for_ Junior now.

Junior was a man with standards. He accepted a lot of things in life, but a man in bright orange was not one he could stand. He made his people of various standings wearing various types of clothing. If you were one of his lower tier people, you wore a black suit with a red tie. Red sunglasses weren't required, but they were something that a lot of members had.

People like the twins could wear whatever they wanted and when they wanted.

Naruto's "rank" was in question, but he was somewhere above most of the normal people that Junior kept in his club. Naruto was ranked as a bodyguard and was now in need of some clothes to match the part. Junior gave the girls only one word of advice: No orange.

Since Junior was the client Naruto could only agree to his terms since he was working for him as a bodyguard. The man hardly went anywhere and he had a whole slew of people that were decked out with guns, swords, and axes. All of which were people that would run head first into an oncoming train if they were told to rob it. They weren't exactly the smartest of people, but they did get the job done, if not with a few broken things here and there. How Hei put up with them, Naruto didn't know, but he knew how he put up with them: Pranking them.

Junior got the biggest of laughs when Naruto would prank one of them with either a scare tactic or a prank that left them feeling gross and a need to change clothes. He'd gotten a total of eighteen in the last month with a physical prank and another eight with verbal pranks he learned from his own experiences and from various teachers he'd yet to fully disclose on. Junior poured through hours of paperwork to figure out who might have taught him how to verbally scare someone to a point of paranoia if only to learn it for himself, but the blond had either hid his tracks well or was lying. Junior couldn't tell.

Now, because Naruto needed new clothes, and because there were ground rules for said clothes, Junior wanted to make certain that Naruto would obey said rules about the clothes. To ensure that he got the right sets of clothes only one course of action could be allowed. The twins had to accompany him.

Melanie, once again forced into a role she despised, and around someone she despised even more, could only grumble and argue with him at each and every turn they made. She found something. He hated it. He found something. She hated it. It was like watching a married couple or two siblings trying to find the right clothes for a fancy dinner party. With Naruto being on the receiving end of all the flack, it was only a matter of time before the blood started flying again and Miltia would be forced to stop them.

Poor Miltia was the only one to truly tolerate Naruto and his odd antics. It was true she hadn't been on the receiving end of a terrible prank or a joke, but she had her views on him as well. To her, Naruto was a Mercenary with a Mouth. When off the clock he was laid back, comical, and would dodge every question about his past and the odd two years where he disappeared. But when he was on the clock he was a totally different person. That the version of him she liked the most. He became serious, his eyes would go cold, his entire body would seemingly tense and his words always carried a double meaning. Nothing he did was the same as the off the clock version of himself.

It was just that right now he was off the clock. Melanie had booked an appointment for a full body massage and a facial. Miltia had one booked as well, but unlike her sister, she could stand to miss it. She hadn't been nearly as active as Melanie had since Naruto had joined the party. She'd already gotten into two scraps with him, the last one ending with him spanking her butt and copping a feel in the process. If she didn't kill him before the end of the month, it'd be amazing.

"You need to wear something like this," she told him In her hands she held a long sleeved button up blue shirt with a black vest and a black coat and slacks. Naruto was shaking his head at the sight of it. "If you complain one more time about the lack of orange, I will kick you in the head."

"Whatever. I'd have to get you a stepping stool to do that." She thrust the clothes into his chest and pointed to the changing room. "I refuse. There is no orange on this." Her leg lashed out and Naruto ducked under, a cheeky grin tugging at the corners of his lips. "Blue today, huh? What's the occasion?" Growling, she grabbed his head and brought his head down into her rising knee. He stopped her by grabbing her knee and shielding himself from her boney limb. "We're in a public place," he told her. Junior loved this place for reasons Naruto didn't know. The man behind the counter hadn't stopped any of their shenanigans yet, so maybe these people worked for Junior or knew him really well.

"Go try it on! Or so help me, I'm going to kick you in the nuts," she told him in a harsh whisper. Naruto rolled his eyes and she made ready to deliver on her threat. Naruto wisely vacated the area and retreated to the variable safety of the changing room. Not that a small wooden door and a small deadbolt was going to stop one of her kicks. Smoothing out her hair, the white dress wearing sister sighed and looked at her scroll. "We're going to be late for our massages," she exasperated.

"I'm okay with it," Miltia confessed. Melanie rolled her eyes and started dialing their number. She didn't have them on speed dial yet. She had been meaning too, but it always slipped her mind. "Besides, they know the line of work we do. Junior even booked it for us as a birthday present."

"That is not – Hello. Yes. My name is Melanie Malachite and I booked a four thirty appointment for today. I was wondering if I could push it to five." She paused and listened. Miltia watched the door, waiting for Naruto to exit in his outfit. "You can? Thank you. Yes, my sister will be with me as well. You **can** push hers up as well, right? Thank you so much!" She hung up and put her scroll away. "As long as fox boy over here doesn't take too long, we're all set."

"I heard that."

"I don't care if you did."

Miltia rolled her eyes and watched Naruto's feet. His pants dropped around his ankles and the slacks unfolded. He held them up for a few short seconds before he made them disappear and pulled his pants back up. "Not trying on the pants?" Miltia asked. It was comical to watch them fight.

"They don't have a spot for my tail," he told her plainly.

Melanie stopped whatever argument she was about to start with him and went back to looking for a pair of slacks that would match that suit so far. Sad as it was, this store didn't really serve Faunus. They made tailored clothes for humans. Not Faunus. Was it wrong? Yes. Did the store owner care? No. He wasn't even obligated to make clothes for Faunus like Naruto. If there was a terrible Faunus features to have, it had to be tails.

The red dress wearing sister watched her sister sort through some slacks before she turned to the sound of the door opening. Naruto stepped out wearing everything but the jacket. He had left that hanging on a hook. His belt held up his worn down pants and his holsters remained with it. Looking him over, Miltia shook her head and shoved him back inside.

"Let me try finding something," she told him. She cared about getting her nails painted. That was the only _thing_ she wanted done today. It was hard to paint her own nails the way she liked. She was gifted like her sister like that. Retreating inside, Naruto stripped down and was in the process of putting his shirt on when a pair of clothes landed on top of his head. "Try those on," she ordered.

Naruto held out the shirt, turned it around a few times to examine it and then complied. It wasn't orange, but it was a step up from what Melanie wanted him to wear. He threw on the shirt and then the jacket. It was like they wanted him be in disguise or something with what was thrown his way. He stepped out of the changing room and into the awaiting eyes of Miltia. She motioned for him to do a small twirl, which he begrudgingly did, and then nodded. She had put him in a gray t-shirt with a small logo for the company by the right side of the collar, and a brown jacket that reached slightly past his hips.

"Not bad." She put a hand on her chin as she looked him over. He was still missing something. It was right there on the tip of her tongue and she just couldn't see it or say it. It eluded her for a long time before she grabbed the jacket from him and retrieved a trench coat and tossed it to him. Slipping it on, he let it remain open and then slapped his hands to his side. "Do you have a different set of holsters?"

"I got two sets."

"Then we're good. You just need some pants to bring this all together. If I'm not mistaken-"

A pair of dark gray jeans flew over her head and into Naruto's face. "Put those on," Melanie ordered. She tapped her foot impatiently as he went back to the changing room and tried them on. She had torn a hole in the back for his tail. Sadly, it was just a bit lower than what was needed, but he made it work. Stepping out in his news clothing, she nodded approvingly. "Now let's go. I have a facial I don't wanna miss out on." She paused while turning and pointed at the blond. "And not that kind of a facial, but an actual one. Not the one you're thinking of. Just a facial."

Looking thoughtful, Naruto walked passed her saying, "So you _are_ having someone cum in your face?" She resisted the urge to kick him with all her might. A look of pure righteous feminine fury was drawn across her face and Naruto could only laugh at her. It made her look rather cute when she was extremely riled up. "You said it. I wasn't even thinking it until you went on the spill about how it wasn't a facial I was thinking of. Which if that's all you're doing, there is a changing room right there. I'll give you one for free."

"I am not having a man give me a facial. Lest of all you!"

"So you're having a woman do it? Same thing. Changing room right there. Your sister is right here." 

Now she did make the effort to kick him. Before the blow could even touch him he caught her ankle and held her in place while shook his head.

"Why a blue thong? Seriously, you wear all white? Are you on the rag or something?" The look of fury would have sent any sane person running at that point. Miltia would give him props for standing his ground when faced with such a terrible overwhelming sense of doom. Not even Junior would have stood to face her at this point. Naruto had some serious balls if he was just going to keep messing with her like that. "Also," he said while making sure to keep his grip, "you need to shave. And I don't mean your legs."

He let her go and wisely – or stupidly – retreated to the questionable safety of the changing room to change out of his new clothes and into his old ones. Once he was out, he could only smile victoriously towards the fuming long haired girl. With his clothes tucked under his arm and a happy skip in his step, he crossed by her in victorious silence. She grabbed his collar, hauled him back in front of her stepped on his foot. He gave her now pleasure in seeing a pain expression. "For you information, I do a bikini wax, which, mind you, I have planned for today, Shedder."

Tapping his chin with his index finger, he shook his head and said, "I don't shed. I take care of my tail. I actually take more care of it than I do my hair on the top of my head. And before you try to make a joke about that one, know that I do groom myself down there. Clearly, I'm better at than you are, Fur Coat."

Her look of rage was enough to send even the stronger and bravest of men running. Only a truly insane person would hold their ground now.

Clearly, Naruto was smarter than that and moved to the counter to pay for the clothes.

Miltia rubbed her sisters' shoulder knowingly and while silently amused by his antics, was deeply annoyed with him. "I'll skin him," Melanie told her in a harsh whisper that she was sure Naruto heard. The blond peered back at her, smiling as he made lewd gestures with his free hand while the cashier ringed him up. "I will break him and wear his tail around my neck."

With his items bought, Naruto split from the twins and returned to his newly acquired apartment. Naruto was rather odd when it came to explaining things. He'd been staying at a hotel the entire time and decidedly called it an apartment anyways. Junior, being a fairly reasonable guy, and because he wanted his mercenary/bodyguard close to him, help Naruto procure a small apartment close to the club. Money wasn't really a thing for Naruto either. Junior offered to help him by paying for the first months' rent and the security deposit, but he was kindly refused and the blond paid for it on his own.

Currently his living arrangements weren't the best, as his next door neighbor was a cranky blind woman that had a thing against loud people and Faunus. How she knew Naruto was a Faunus, he didn't know. The one he got was a two bedroom one bath apartment on the second floor. The kitchen was nice, but Naruto hardly used it for anything other than ramen, tea, and coffee. Occasionally he'd open up a bag of popcorn or start eating some berries. The second room was completely devoted to Naruto's flowers and computer.

Naruto fished out his keys as he finished climbing the stairs. A woman with black hair and green eyes stood at the door with a clipboard and a few large packages. "Hello," he greeted as he put his key in the knob.

"Are you…" she checked her clipboard, "Naruto Uzumaki?" He nodded while pushing the door open and throwing his bag in the corner. "Can you sign this?"

Taking it, he signed his name and glanced down at the packages before asking, "Who sent them?"

"Not my job to know. I just deliver packages to the addresses they have on them." She took the clipboard back and walked off. Naruto pulled the packages inside and placed them on his table and went to his room to put up his clothes. He came back with a knife and tore into the three packages. The first one contained a terminal for a computer, the second contained a monitor, and the last one contained a new scroll. His old one was officially out of date and a need to get a new had arisen. Methodically Naruto pulled everything into his computer/plant room and started setting stuff up.

After ten minutes Naruto had the computer set up and the new scroll fully upgraded with his old numbers and images.

Not even a few seconds later his scroll buzzed and image of Junior's face came on screen. "Hello?"

" _You want to make a quick hundred lien?"_

"…Sure?"

" _Come by the club for the details."_

Naruto ended the call and glanced at the computer for a brief moment as if weighing his options to go before shutting it down and heading out. A few hundred lien could pay for his ramen down at the SIMPLE WOK.

(-)

"Bodies aren't dropping anymore since Granite died. I don't think he's here to really kill people, Oz. I think it's more like he came here looking for something."

Ozpin laced his fingers together and tightly shut his eyes while he tried to process Qrow's words.

 _There has to be reason for why he's here._

Ozpin wanted to believe that Naruto's arrival here was to try and seek him out and ask for a chance to become a student at his Academy. But after two months of no contact from him, Ozpin was starting to believe that wasn't the case. Naruto was here for something. He wasn't even really running from anything if all their reports on him were accurate. He bought an apartment under his name, a clear sign he wasn't trying to hide his arrival here. Ozpin was even given the strange notion that Naruto knew they were watching him. It was like he enjoyed it.

Naruto wasn't stupid either. He knew that out of the other three Headmasters, James was his best friend and most trusted ally. So it was only natural that if Naruto started acting up, Ozpin could deport him back to Atlas to stand trial for his crimes there before coming back to Vale to stand trial for any crimes he commits here. Which was odd that he would come here to start doing whatever it was he was doing.

"And we're positive he has nothing to do with Patch's death?" Glynda asked.

Yes. There was the death of Patch. No last name. The man was found dead in a hotel with a gunshot wound to his shoulder. He had bled out and wasn't found until about a week ago. His ransacked apartment had enough information to detail some of the events that took place and the things he had done. The man had come into a lot of questionable wealth and invested into the SDC. He collected a large portion of dust crystals and had plans to sell them back to the public at a higher value, claiming that they would be pristine and uncut, making them worth more. To top everything off, he had bought the services of two hookers and had managed to get the deed down with both ladies, as fluids were found inside them.

But something went wrong and his apartment was broken in to by an unknown number of assailants. Multiple strands of hair were found at the crime scene and Ozpin was still waiting on the results of the testing to find out who they belonged to. Four bullets were fired from a small handgun, most likely that of a 10mm variant. Three of the bullets hit the two ladies and one of them had blown off part of her hand as a sign of protection and struggle on her part. The last round was then fired into the Patch's shoulder where he began to bleed profusely before being grabbed and hauled off. A look at his bank account showed that his money had been transferred out to someone in Mistral going under the name Al Pone.

And from there the trail turned cold.

The only forensics found came from one bullet that had been fired into the wall, most likely the one that had torn through the hand of the girl, and finger prints were lifted from it. They belonged to one Ekans Cola. The man was reported dead six years ago after a fatal bus accident involved two other cars and a bomb. Everyone remembered it as a day of tragedy with thirty people losing their lives and some forty more being injured. His body was recovered and he confirmed dead. Meaning that the gun they used still contained his finger prints and the rounds loaded into the gun were the same ones he loaded before his death.

Glynda wanted to have the grave exhumed but the family would most likely remain stubborn on the issue and demand he be left alone. A rightful thing that they should and would do, but if push came to shove, Ozpin was even willing to use his authority as a Huntsman to get the case solved.

"Positive," Qrow grumbled. "Patch had a 10mm round go through his arm. It matches the same kind of exit wounds you see with them. But there's no way to be certain about it."

"Were you tailing him that night?" Glynda asked. He snorted at her. "So you weren't?"

"Despite what you may think, I have a family I like to spend time with. If it were up to me, I'd spend every day of my life with two cute nieces and live happily with them. But sadly, shit keeps going sideways and the jobs keep coming in. I took a teachers' job at Signal to sort of get away from all this. Now with this whole fiasco with Amber, I sort of don't have a choice in the matter. Just be thankful that school just got out or you'd be out a good spy right now."

"Be that as it may, that was the only time that we didn't have someone watching Naruto and someone died. Whether this was his doing or not is unknown, but what is known is that Naruto isn't trying to hide here." Ozpin stood up and moved to the window. "We need to speak to him and try to figure out what's going on. Maybe we can coax some information out of him."

"You wanna try to talk to him?" Qrow walked around the desk, poking as he added, "There is something seriously wrong with this situation, Ozpin."

"Naruto's return to the surface is odd, but…"

"No." Qrow cut him off with a sharp jab at the desk. Glynda jumped a little from his outburst. "Listen to me, Ozpin, this is something else. Do you remember the car bombing in Vacuo by the White Fang? The one that killed twenty-seven people?" The Headmaster nodded slowly, confused at what he was getting at. Qrow grabbed his scroll and showed him an image of a man with brown hair and a pair of furry dog ears on the top of his head. He sported two triangle tattoos on his cheek that went down to his jaw bone. "This is Kiba Inuzuka. He **died** in that bombing and just a month ago he showed back up without any injuries. He has a **tomb stone,** Ozpin. He is dead and yet," he took his scroll back, "this photo was taken by me a few days ago. He's not the only one to randomly appear back either." He continued to scroll through his scroll and then showed him a girl with long brown hair and brown eyes. "This is Kurama Yakumo; she walked into a forest and disappeared for five years. Atlas doesn't have any findings on her. Her father died trying to find her and never did. She just showed up in Mistral not two days ago."

"Are you implying something?" Glynda asked heatedly. People showed back up all the time. They were either out on long term missions or, in some rare cases, finally came home after escaping a cave or some other sort of thing that they hid in to evade the Grimm.

"It's just odd that these two people also showed up after a few years of dropping off the world. I couldn't find them. Jiraiya, Vacuo's greatest spy master, couldn't find them. So what does that tell you?"

Ozpin looked at the window and then picked up his cane. "I believe I'm going to go talk with Uzumaki. Glynda," he picked up one of the transcripts he was taking interest in, "please, look over the rest of these transcripts. I'll be looking over this one." Before anyone could say another word Ozpin left and wasn't seen again until the end of the day.

(-)

"Are you fucking serious?" Naruto held up the card and pointed accusingly to Junior. "This is a joke, right?"

"I'm afraid not. Do you want the job or not? There are other people that would kill to have a job like this one. It's super easy. So what's wrong with it?"

Naruto gestured to the card. "I can't pronounce this guys' name, for one thing. Also, he wants me to, and I quote from this, "Scare a little girl in to not coming to the weapon shop **every day** ," for about one hundred and seventy-five lien. So where to truly begin with the shit storm that is this job. First off, as I said, I can't pronounce this guys' name. It starts with two A's, then trails off into random letters that just makes me think that he didn't want to give out his name, which is illegal for reasons I don't understand."

"Failure to identify is a law punishable by ten days in jail for a first offense and then a year for a second offense," Junior told him, cutting him and then chuckling into his drink as he listened to the blond mercenary continue to rant.

"Secondly, this guy, whom I actually know by appearance as I've seen him once, is a twenty-year old man working at a **weapon shop designed to sell weapons** and he is somehow scared of a little girl that visits said shop every day."

"Are you telling me you never did something like that?" Melanie asked. She found this job invigorating as it was annoying Naruto to no end.

"And lastly, this son of a bitch wants me to scare a little girl. What is wrong with him? I'm yelling at him when I get there, which is another illegal thing I'll be doing today."

"And what are the other things you're doing that are illegal?" Miltia asked.

Naruto calmed down enough to finally look and act like his usual self. She'd be lying if she didn't think it was funny to his antics when he got like this. It was relaxing and mind soothing to hear him speak in a more normal tone rather than his dark tone that promised death and destruction to his targets.

"Well since you asked." He picked up his beer and took a long sip before answering fully. "I'm drinking underage. The drinking age is twenty here. Though in Atlas it was nineteen, but I drank with my mom at our house, which isn't illegal. The other thing that I'm doing that is illegal is being a mercenary and also operating as a huntsman without a license to do so, so that's illegal on two fronts. The other thing that is illegal is that I'm here at a club without a hot girl in my arms." Junior nodded to that one, feeling the pain of every lonely man. "And the last one is that I'm here at the club when I could be home watching one of two things: The new with the awesome Mr. Chan or watching the smoking hot Pyrrha Nikos crush the crap out of Aurora again. Both of them make it seem like their mud wrestling with how they fight in the end."

"Pig," Melanie hissed at him. She took a sip from his wine glass and said, "Is there is not another show you'd rather be watching?"

"If you're referring to the idea that I would watch porn over either of those two things, you are sadly mistaken. The only porn I watch is in the morning. Morning wood is the bane of my existence. That wakes me up. Not my alarm clock. I roll over trying to deny the inevitable to crush my penis in the attempts to escape the rising sun." Junior raised his glass with a slight grin on his face. The two males toasted and gulped their drinks down. "Well that's enough about porn and morning wood. I gotta go scare a little girl now."

"I'm already scared. And that just because of you talking about your reproductive organs."

Naruto laughed and got close to her. She could smell the alcohol wafting from his breath. "I could show you if you've only seen them in books," he whispered into her ear. She shoved him away and got ready to kick him in the end. He stepped on her ankle and smiled at her. "You will never find a man with that temper of yours." And then he walked out to complete his job begrudgingly.

Junior returned to work for an hour before a man with gray hair showed up. "Do you have anything light to drink?"

"We have a few things… Give me a second."

"If it's all the same to you, I'd like to you surprise me. And," he adjusted his glasses as they slipped down his nose, "if it's all the same to you, I'd like to find a booth as well. One preferably away from smoke if possible."

Looking around, the club owner nodded and said something to a man in a black suit. He motioned to the gray haired patron and said, "Take him to the corner booth. Sir, this man will take to you a booth," while grabbing a glass and making a mix drink.

"One more thing, if possible." The man tapped a cane against the hard floor and smiled reasonably. "I'm looking for a man that takes jobs. If you can, I'd like to speak with him. I have a job for him and I do prefer to speak to the men I hire face to face. And as a show of good will," he handed his cane over to his cane, "I'll let you hold on to this. It is my weapon."

Junior put the weapon behind the bar and watched him go with his man. Melanie looked to the weapon and then to Hei. "That's the Headmaster for Beacon Academy. He's not here to hire Naruto for anything." Junior returned to making drinks and waiting for Naruto to show up. If the blond wanted to confront Ozpin, that'd be his choice.

(-)

"Are the man on this card?"

The man behind the counter nodded with a realized sigh at the sight of the blond.

Putting the card away, Naruto looked around and then pointed to the back where he saw a small red cape wearing girl with headphones on. "Is that her?"

"Yeah. She's been here-"

"I don't care. You're idiot and a pussy as far as I'm concerned. You're twenty-something and you're being scared by a little girl. Believe me, when I'm done with this, I am **so** going to have a talk with you."

Naruto disappeared before the man could say anything else and took a deep breath before grabbing his pistol and removing the clip and round. He pocketed both and then removed the blade from top of the blade by unscrewing the tiny screw that brought the two different weapons together. Gripping the blade tightly, he approached the small girl and then started pilfering the rack she was beside for parts to replace the "missing" screw. He dropped the gun and then the blade and cursed his luck as he bent over to pick it up.

"Sorry," he said when he bumped into her. The girl looked at the two items on the ground and then to him. "I have butterfingers."

The girl removed her headphones and snatched up the gun before he could snatch it up. "Is this a Glock 22 .40 Caliber Safe-Action?" She yanked back on the pistol and cocked it. "That was too easy. Aside from the modified barrel and grip, this thing shouldn't slide back this well. Do you oil it every day?" She held it like a pro and looked down the sights. "The top of the gun is also outfitted with a small groove for where the blade would rest. And judging by the handle, you've incorporated small switches so that the gun doesn't transform into… whatever it does. It seems incomplete."

Naruto stood with a stunned smile on his face.

"Oh! I'm so sorry. My name is Ruby Rose. Sorry… I'm… kind of a weapon nerd."

Shaking himself from his stupor, the blond held out his hand took the weapon back. "It's okay. I was looking for a screw to put these two things together." He held up the blade and then the pistol. "It was together a few days ago and then, well, I dropped. Stabbed my foot. The screw I was using was sort of old. It was better to break now than later when I'd really need it."

"Ew… Well I've cut myself plenty of times using Crescent Rose before I got good with it." She paused and then began hoping in place like a nerves child. "So what's your name?"

"Oh that's right. My bad. I'm so sorry. My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I'm just passing through town and visiting a friend for the day. Rodger, the man at the counter, he's an old friend." Naruto leaned closer and whispered, "Plus he's kind of scared with weapons. His doctor told him to work at a place like this to get over his phobia." 

"Oh," she whispered sadly.

"Don't worry about it. So what's a little girl like yourself doing in a weapon shop at," Naruto pulled his scroll out and checked the time, "seven thirty-five in the afternoon? Shouldn't you be, I don't know, home studying for a test or something. School didn't get out yet, did it?"

"It did." She confirmed happily. "I have two more years at Signal and then I'm going to apply for Beacon."

"Why Beacon? Why not one of the other three?"

"Well my sister got accepted for Beacon and I'm wanting to… follow her… But I wanna be like my mom and she went to Beacon. She became a really cool huntress. I want be just like her and the heroes I read about in the books I read."

Naruto smile dropped a little but he played it off like he was looking for the screw and having trouble finding it. "So you want to be a huntress. I had a friend that wanted to do that."

"What happened to her?"

"Him, actually." Ruby had the decency to look embarrassed. "Well he, uh, disappeared one day. Haven't seen him in five years. He just… poof… gone… out of the blue. There are days I think those memories we had together are false. But I know they're not. His mother is proof of that." Naruto feigned shock when he found the right sized screw. "Found it. You here for anything specific? I used to work at a weapon shop like this back home in Atlas. My friend, Tenten, she got me a job working for her families weapon shop."

"Actually I'm just sort of waiting on my uncle. He had a meeting with some other teachers about the grades some of the students made on their final exam. He should be done soon."

"That's cool. So listen, Ruby, I'm here for more than just this screw. See, Rodger over there has this other phobia. He's scared of little girls." Ruby blinked. "It's a real thing. Look it up. And because I'm his friend, and I am in no way threatening you, but could you maybe consider not coming in so frequently. At least while he's working. He just sort of worried that you're going to do something dark to him. For reasons beyond my comprehension." Naruto whispered the last part with a faraway look in his eyes. Ruby just looked at him funny. "So could you do me a solid and come by every couple of days. Because their short staffed right now and he's just a chicken around little girls. It would make my ears a lot better."

"I can try. But what else am I going to do when I come to town?"

"Go to the bookstore, find pretty dresses… I don't know. Whatever girls your age are doing right now would be smart."

"Girls my age are dating boys and I'm not really into that."

"So you play for the other team?" Naruto's comical side slipped and took over for a fraction of a second as he laughed hysterically to the notion of a little girl probably no older than fourteen questioning her sexuality or being someone that just didn't like or get the idea of dating a boy. If Naruto was a betting man, which he was, he believed that her words were more directed to the idea of just dating in general. "I'm sorry," he said, reigning his own laughter and funnier side in, "that was just kind of a funny."

"Well it doesn't help that I have an overprotective father," Ruby admitted.

Naruto winced. "That bites…" Naruto threw the screw up on the counter and nodded. "This'll be all, Rodger. And, uh, I do hope that one day you will finally get over your fear of little girls. Ruby, do you have anything you need to get from here?"

A lightbulb might have appeared over her head with how her eyes widened. "Yes! I ordered a scope a week ago and I was told I could come pick it up. It's under Ruby Rose." The man exasperatingly left to find the package and returned only moment later with a small brown box. Ruby squealed in delight as she tore it out of its case after paying for it. Not a moment later she whipped out a small compact item that unfolded into a red, oversized, scythe. Rodger whimpered fearfully. "Now my precious baby is complete!" She squealed once more and held the weapon tightly like she were trying to hug it to death. "I'm sorry about your two phobias, Rodger. Maybe one day you can get over them."

Naruto smiled and walked out with her, turning and looking at the man with a dark set of eyes as he waved goodbye to him in the _nicest_ way possible.

"So you wield a scythe? That's neat. Can't say I've seen too many people using those in combat." He came to a stop when a looming threat washed over him. Ruby failed to notice it. "Ruby, so tell me, why exactly do you wield a scythe?"

"Because they're awesome, duh?" Naruto turned slowly. Ruby did as well while she elaborated. "Well my uncle uses one and he is so super cool when he uses it. He said my mom used something smaller, the chain-sickle variant, and when I tried to use them I got hurt all the time. So started using a scythe and from then on there, everything was sort of better for me and then I just started using it until my uncle – UNCLE QROW!" Ruby cut herself off to scream at the arrival of her uncle. Naruto smiled, despite the frown he saw on the mans' face. "How was the meeting?"

"The meeting was good, kiddo." He ruffled her hair when she jumped on his arm and hung their like a monkey. "So who is your friend? Does your dad know about him?" He winked twice and Ruby made a disgusted face. "Oh that's good to know. Because if I tell your dad, you know he'll throw a fit and come after your little friend. So how about I do you a sold and "talk" to him." He patted his head and sent her off to the weapon shop. Ruby looked to Naruto questioningly. He gave her a sly smile. She shrugged and ran back inside.

"She's cute… Not my type though. And too young…" Naruto crossed his arms and looked at Qrow with a smile as he tilted his head. "Are you done prowling the roofs at night or is this going to be an ongoing thing until you find whatever little thing you're looking for with me. It's getting annoying and in the way of my investigation."

Qrow feigned surprise and laughed at him. "You're investigation? That's cute. You're not even a huntsman and you're trying to find something. Real cute." Qrow pulled out a flask and took a sip from it. "So what are doing back in Vale? What's your real reason? And don't try to beat around the bush either. You're smart. You pranked your teachers, your friends, and on rare occasions, even James. So I know you're smart." Naruto pulled out a small picture and started looking at it before tossing it to Qrow. The man glanced at it. It was a picture of a man wearing military armor and a face mask. A hood covered his hair from view. "What's this?"

"Have you ever heard of steganography?" Qrow blinked and Naruto chuckled. "It's the art of concealing a message inside of another message. There are two messages in that picture. The first is the man. I started looking for him about three year ago. Supposedly he worked with three others in similar suits. My friend, Shiho, found the hidden message inside that photo." He pulled out another one and tossed it to him. Qrow read it and looked at him funny. "The message, though oddly written up, was sent to me five months ago."

"You mean while you were away doing Oum knows what at Oum knows where?" Qrow said with a snicker. He read the message again. I'M IN VALE! 

"Right… Odd, I suppose. I disappear and people ask questions when I come back. Believe me, at Junior's Club, I get it so much. Junior wants to know where I was and the Twins just want to know how I switch between business me and prankster me. I really don't see the difference, but it's me I'm talking about, so it's just me being me."

"So you came to Vale because of some message that someone sent you in a photo? Who is this guy?"

"I don't know." Naruto sounded almost proud of himself.

Qrow sighed explosively and took another shot from his flask. "So you're here in Vale looking for a guy wearing a mask you don't even know. That sounds like some fantasy story." The older man took another strong hit from his flask and grumbled out, "So you're here for this man, but you never really go looking for him. Why?"

"I'd rather sit and wait for the person to show up. It's not like I'm really hiding. I let you follow me."

"Yeah you clearly don't go anywhere. You eat too much ramen, by the way."

Naruto ground his teeth and then laughed. "Everyone tells me that. I think they just don't see the greatest of ramen." He mused while walking around in circles and tapping his chin in thought. He stopped and pointed at Qrow with a knowing smile. "Do you remember the last time we met? You showed up at the farm where I was recovering from my surgery for my arm. I was just waking up when the Grimm showed up." Naruto paused and looked at the night sky. His eyes glazed over and for a split second Qrow felt fear. There was something dark behind his eyes. He blinked and suddenly his eyes were clear and focused. "We fought them off… But," he shook his head, "we weren't going to last. My pistols were damaged and in need of repair. Sakura fought as hard as she could but she just…"

"Did you ever talk about it with anyone?" Naruto closed his eyes. Qrow looked away and put his hands in his pockets. "You disappeared shortly after she died. You never went to her funeral."

"I didn't belong there. I let her die."

"You were hardly able to fight. You had one arm."

"I let her die. I promised Sasuke on the night he disappeared that I would look after her. And I failed." The blond shook his head and looked at his mechanical arm and hen to Qrow. "I should thank you for helping us. You… You inspired me to get stronger. Seeing you in action… Killing the Grimm. It was so different compared to what the others did. They treated it like it was a field operation. Like it was a… thing of some utter destruction. You killed Grimm, but they did something else. The Academy's taught us to kill Grimm. To show no mercy, to give to no quarter. You were different. You fought the Grimm with a desire to destroy only them and nothing else. You didn't care where they came from. And your weapon…"

"You sound almost nostalgic for a man running away from his past."

The fox Faunus rolled his eyes. "You made me craft a weapon from the weapon I used back then during that fight. I don't have it with me currently and I'm not too bad with it. I'd show it to you, but it's not nearly as fancy as yours and…" he glanced back at Ruby and chuckled, "her weapon. I think it goes without saying what weapon I'm talking about." Qrow nodded slowly. The fox Faunus put his hands in his pockets. "I'm not going to thank you, Qrow, for helping them. I'm not going to thank you for being there at her funeral. But I will thank for giving me the motivation to become greater than what I was. I'm not going to tell you I'm an Avenger or anything like that." 

"Hey, one last question. What is your favorite season?"

Naruto paused and glanced up in thought. "Fall… Because that's when I was born." Naruto started walking again. "Fall is the start of winter and I so much love the snow. But I love fall because the leaves turn orange and the night sky usually looks the same. It's so beautiful."

"Yeah, she is, isn't she?" Naruto looked over his shoulder, his eyes slightly narrowed before a playful smile tugged at the corners of his lips. Qrow's eyes widened and he reached for his sword but Ruby returned and tackled into him. "Let's go back home, squirt." He released his grip on his weapon and watched Naruto leave.

(-)

Naruto strolled into the club counting his lien and walked up to the counter. Junior slid into view cleaning a cup. "Can I get a bottle of… something dark?"

"Sure thing," Junior said with a cough. Naruto glanced up when he slammed down two Root Beers. Looking at them oddly, Junior pointed to a booth in the far corner of the club. "You have someone here that wants to talk to you. Probably best not to do anything illegal."

Confused, Naruto glanced back and spied a mop of gray hair and understood the meaning as he grabbed up the drinks and moved to the corner where his date with destiny awaited. Slowly, almost methodically, Ozpin turned and looked up, his glass of something empty. Naruto presented the drink and sat down on the other side of him.

"It's been a while, Uzumaki. You look good for someone that died for two years." Ozpin took the offered drink and chuckled. "Trying to keep things semi legal I see. Well, I suppose I can't incriminate you for anything just yet. You are only at a club to drink a soda, enjoy the music, and mingle with others."

"You're right. I'm still trying to get into the pants of this one little number that works here. She's cute. Sadly, I think I've pranked her too many times. Love is a strange thing I don't understand."

"Well, love is a confusing and terrible thing. But it's probably just as complicated as politics. Probably more so when you get more than one person involved. But I'm not here to talk about that." He picked up the bottle of soda and looked at the lid. He motioned to Naruto with a quick shake. The blond took it and popped the top with his left hands' thumb. Nodding his thanks, he took a quick drink and then continued. "To be clear, I'm not here to hire you for anything legal or illegal. As far as either of should be concerned, this is strictly a meeting of interests."

"Fair enough." Naruto popped the top on his soda and then added, "But if you're going to set a few ground rules, I'll set one of my own. Don't ask me about the two years I was away. I've already been asked that once by Qrow. It was annoying and I'm not in the mood to talk about the past. If you even bring up _her_ name, know that I will not walk away from you."

"That's fair." Ozpin laced his fingers together and sat forward. "To business then. I would like to extend an open invitation for you to come to my Academy and become a student there." Naruto started laughing at him. "So that's your answer? I figured as much. Now that my interests are met, I have a question for you." He dropped a small vanilla folder on the table and then opened it. Naruto grimaced at the sight of the surgery pictures of his mangled arm. "You lost your arm to a training accident. The accident in question involved test rounds being fired from a machine gun that was being operated by a man that had issues against Faunus."

Naruto shut his eyes and scratched at the side of his chin, irritation slowly beginning to creep in on him.

"He was in charge of making sure the gun was forced into a lock position. Either by a choice of mercy or just not caring enough, you didn't press charges. You asked that James let him go when he was charged with attempted murder. You asked that your mother forgive the man that tried to kill her son. That was after you spent twelve grueling hours in surgery so they could amputate your arm that was bullet ridden with test rounds and your shoulder that had been chewed through to the bone. Even after all that you went out and completed your tests and your trials to graduate, despite being ordered not to. You passed your combat exam with one arm and one pistol. You fought a Grimm off with one arm and one pistol. And then, after graduating, you requested surgery to get your prosthetic limb."

Ozpin flipped the page on the report. A blue print showed where the metal would attach to bone and flesh. Naruto winced at the picture. It showed three long bolts drilled into his collar bone and then anchored down with barbs. If the metal was ever ripped off he'd lose more than just a few pounds of flesh and his collar bone, he'd lose his entire left side down to his third or fourth rib if he was lucky.

"You were to receive a Y-501 Prosthetic limb designed by the Ycaruse Industry. And yet," he glanced at Naruto's left arm, "you have a completely different model not seen by anyone. Which begs the question: Where did you get it?" Naruto's eyes opened and he leaned back in his chair. "I think it goes without saying that this all goes back to the two years you were dead. But you got your arm six months before you went missing. So I suppose those two years you were away started with that surgery. So I'm not going to ask about that." He turned the page in the file and Naruto's eyes darkened at the sight of two mangled bodies. "Let's talk about these two people you killed in Atlas."

"What are you really after?"

"The truth."

"The truth can cut worse than a lie. It can destroy people."

"Truths, like a lie, have a lot of weight to them. Ignorance is truly the greatest bliss out there. It helps people dictate what is right and what is wrong based on how little they know. One might even say that ignorance is the greatest sin out there. It makes you blind to the truths. But the truth can kill just as easily as a lie can. So I'm going to ask one very simple question. Was this a mercy killing, and if so, why did you run?"

Naruto downed his drink, an act that took him two minutes to do. He sat in silence for another three minutes before taking the file and turning it around to show Ozpin the names. "It was a mercy killing. There was no way they were going to survive. They knew that. They… They asked me to kill them. They asked **me** to do something I didn't want to do. Not to them. Not to my friends." Naruto's scalar began to turn red. Ozpin steeled himself for a fight. Naruto's eyes returned to normal. "I didn't run away. I walked away. I failed three people in my life. I killed two of them. Those are things I can never take back. I couldn't save Sakura from the Grimm. I had to shoot Shikamaru in the head because he didn't want to die from blood loss, because his chest was ripped wide open and everything from the hip down was removed from him. And I had to shoot Moegi in the head because she didn't want to suffer from having her internal organs ruptured and her practically removed from his body. I failed to protect my friends and the new generation that would come after me. After us. And I did it with a single pull of the trigger."

"So you ran away from a tragedy."

"That was a tragedy I could have prevented."

"The Grimm are to blame. Not you. You did what was required of anyone. You stood in the way of so much and saved so many lives. It is the duty of a Huntsman to safeguard the citizens and the wellbeing of the world. We put all other things aside for the protection of our Kingdoms and its people, but above all else, we protect Remnant from those that would wish it harm."

Naruto scoffed and shut the file. "I killed more people in Atlas than what this thing will show." Ozpin shut his eyes. A confession of guilt was not what he wanted to hear. "There were so many people that died that night. I couldn't save them. There were others there, with me, doing the same in the end. Do you know how many bullets I put into innocent people that begged for death because they didn't want to die slowly? I put eighteen bullets into eighteen people. Do you know who saw me put the bullet into Moegi and Shikamaru? It was Shikamaru's mother. I put a bullet in his head after putting one Moegi. Then I pulled her from her house and dragged her to safety. She called me a murderer."

"She has her right to her to her opinion."

"I know."

"I feel that I should let you know that James wants to make things right. He knows what you did and why you did it. He can't openly say it because of who he is, but he knows that you are innocent in this."

"I don't care." Naruto motioned for another drink. Miltia brought it over. Ozpin looked her over and she snorted while turning away from him. "Ozpin, I'm not going back to Atlas. And while I'd like to believe that he hasn't told my mother that I'm alive yet, I know he has. So please, for my sake, don't tell here where I am."

"You're asking me to keep information from a woman that scares even me," he admitted with a laugh. Naruto grinned.

"Yeah I guess I am. When she finds me, she will beat me black and blue. There is nothing in this world more terrifying then her and her RFF." Ozpin chuckled and held his drink up to him. Naruto tapped his bottle against his. "Listen, I'm not taking your offer to throw mud in your face. You're a good person. James speaks highly of you. And if things were different don't think for a second I wouldn't jump at the offer. But I'm not a hero. Heroes don't let people die. They save lives." In one long pull, Naruto downed his Root Beer and got to his feet. "You should go."

Ozpin grabbed his arm before he could leave. "You did the right thing. Even if you see yourself as a monster for doing it, you saved more people that day than you did kill. I read the combat report they gave on you from Hatake Kakashi. If you ever change your mind, know that you have a place at Beacon. And if you stand trial in Atlas, you have a place there as well. Don't shut the world out, Uzumaki. You're a good person. You never let your past define you. It doesn't dictate who you are. But rather, it dictates where you're from. If you ever need someone to talk to, know that I will listen. Not as a Headmaster or a Huntsman, but as a friend who has walked the same path as you. I have put down family members, friends, even people I worked with, because they didn't want to suffer anymore."

Eyes closed, Naruto slowly removed Ozpin's hand and started to walk. "One day, Ozpin, I'll accept what I've done and will do. But until then, I'm going to stay here, waiting and watching and hoping for an outcome that can't possibly happen." Ozpin nodded and walked to the bar to collect his cane. He left shortly after and Naruto looked to the ceiling and smiled. _Mother will kill me when she finds me._ He laughed and watched the lights go out with Junior. Neither man said anything for a while. Naruto finally looked at him and punched him in the arm. "That's for eavesdropping."

Rubbing his shoulder, Junior nodded and then did the same to him. "That's for lying."

Nodding, the blond accepted his punishment and then turned to the twins. "How much of my conversation with Ozpin did you hear?"

"I'm still trying to get into the pants of this one little number that works here. She's cute. Sadly, I think I've pranked her too many times." Melanie quoted him from earlier. Naruto grinned and reached behind the bar to grab a glass of water. "If you think that I will sleep with you, you have another thing coming."

"That's okay; I don't sleep with girls that don't shave." Junior started laughing. Naruto patted her on the head and slapped him away. "It's okay. One day you will find that right girl for you." Junior lost it and doubled over from laughing so hard. Melanie's face became as red as her sisters' dress. "I'm going home. I'm tired and I've probably got a job for tomorrow anyways."


	4. Next Big Thing?

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A/N

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Chapter 4

"I refuse." Naruto slapped the folder shut and pushed it across the table. On the other side of said table were three men in business suits with rifles drawn and a smaller man with messy brown hair and a shirt that read "Eat Me" in blue and red across his black shirt. The man grimaced and looked to the three armed people with him. Rolling his eyes, Naruto took the file back and opened it up. "You want me to kill one…" he stopped and tried to sound out the name of the person before giving up, "…I'm not going to bother trying to pronounce his name. This man is a member of the council that governs over Mistral. And true, he is here on vacation, but I know how these people work."

"So you are refusing?"

"Of course I'm refusing." Naruto dropped the file and ran a hand over his face. It was surprisingly hot today and while Naruto didn't mind the heat nearly as much as the other four people did, Naruto did have to admit he hated how much his tail was going to smell in a few hours once all the sweat was stuck in his fur. "You're asking me to kill a member of the Mistral government that is an acting councilman. I know the kind of bodyguards these people have. The heat would be too great and the risk of death too high. You couldn't pay me enough money to kill one of these people even with a rifle that could reach out and touch someone at ten miles away."

"That's too bad. I really wanted this guy dead and from what I hear, you're pretty good at it. So I thought I'd try you out. Clearly, you're not as hyped up as I was lead to believe. But," he snapped his fingers and they aimed their rifles at Naruto, "you know what my plan is so you can't be alive anymore."

"Fair enough," Naruto said while nodding. "But before you're people start shooting up this place, let me remind you where you are. You are in a moderately public place, though right now it's closed, and you are within about four blocks from the police station. Now, I know that most of these cops are either dirty, blind, deaf, and dumb, but if a public place is shot up… Well… they're going to look into it. This is a dinner and they do like their coffee from this place. Even I like it."

"So what's your point?"

Scratching his nose, the blond Faunus laughed and said, "Well, the cops are four blocks down and they do patrol these streets at night. So any loud noises, they're going to come running if they're in the area. This," Naruto checked his scroll and shook his head, "would mean they're driving by right now. So you'll have to wait a little bit before you can shoot me." And on cue a cop car strolled by. The four men looked at him questioningly for a moment before they lowered their weapons. "Now let's be civil about this and just move on by. I don't remember the name of the person and you didn't pay me. If I go to the cops then you can just throw this away. They have nothing to show for you wanting to kill this person. I don't even know your motives for doing it."

The man licked his teeth and glanced at the three men at his side. "You don't know why I'm doing this?"

"And the cops don't really matter around here," one of the men told him. Naruto gave him a questioning look and allowed him to elaborate. "We may not be well-known mobsters, but we certainly are them. The cops in this area aren't the brightest, but they're not going to question the body of a Faunus showing up somewhere with a few bullets in it."

"That's interesting and I don't care about why you want that man dead. The less I know means the longer you get to live. If you try to kill me, I will kill you. It's that simple." Naruto stood up and dusted off his shirt. The three men pointed their guns at him. "Do you guys really even have to point a gun at me at this point? I can kill two of you before the third one takes me down. Only one of you idiots have access to your aura, so that means you'd be harder to put down. But I suppose your boss here pays for all your deeds and other needs. So if I off him, you're out of a paycheck. Also, I'm not going to go tell the cops. I also know that you three are just buddies of his. You're not even _real_ mob people. Also," Naruto reached forward and grabbed the mans' shirt to haul him to his feet, "if you try to blackmail me again, know that I will introduce you to the ground. And you're relationship will be intimate."

Naruto strolled out the front door shaking his head as the four people looked to each other as if asking one another if this was okay. Naruto pulled out his scroll and dialed Junior's number. "You need to start making sure these people aren't idiots wanting me to do something stupid."

" _You were the one that took the job to scare a little girl in red, remember."_

Naruto chuckled and scratched at his chin at the memory of that. Ruby was a sweet girl. She was actually very nice and would more than likely go on to become a truly terrifying fighter if she survived long enough. She did have Qrow backing her, so that was a plus. But on the up and up she wasn't all there in the head, really. That was two weeks ago and in that time he had caught her at the other various weapon shops around town glued to magazines and fawning over other weapons hot off the line as state of the art weapons of war.

"Yes. I do remember doing that. But," Naruto paused as a cop car raced by him with its sirens on, "I am not going to do these idiotic assassination missions. Junior, you of all people would know how stupid it is to go after one of these guys on the ground. Why allow him in?"

Junior was quiet for a while before saying, _"If you're referring to the Flight 107 incident, that's real cute. Mistral was screwed because of that flight."_

"I did my research on it as well. I'm well aware of what happened. But I am not taking a job to assassinate a councilman that's on the ground. They have three to five teams of a well-trained Huntsman guarding them throughout their term. Once their term is over, they are then more easily reachable on the ground than they are in the air. That's why I refuse to the job."

" _So if I told you he knew where and when the person was flying, you'd take a shot at them?"_

Naruto watched a cop go by – stopping for a moment and seeing him on his scroll – as he responded to call. "Even then I'd have mix feelings about it. People that do those sorts of things are often willing to cover up the mess they make by killing off the killer. Some people just don't want the evidence to come back on them."

" _That's true. Listen, I got a another job for you. Some woman showed up wanting to speak with you and only you. Gave us a card and said he name was Scarlett Schnee. I'm looking in to it now to see-"_

"Don't bother. It's an alias. But I'll talk to the person. See where this job goes." Naruto hung up and stopped walking. He glanced up at the night sky and a flash of fire formed in his minds' eye. His left arm tightened as anger flashed through his entire body. He felt heat and then there was nothing but coldness. In the blink of an eye it was gone and he smiled.

The click of a gun being prepped sounded behind him and he sighed. "Really?"

(-)

"You're late," Melanie grumbled.

Naruto gave an apologetic smile that she rolled her eyes at. "Sorry, I had to clean up."

"Is that blood?"

Naruto looked down at his shirt and narrowed his eyes. "Maybe… Hard to tell. Why? Want to go out on a date or something? This is my nice shirt."

"Funny." She shoved a washrag into his chest. "Clean up and then go talk to the client. She's at table five."

Naruto glanced over his shoulder to the table in question and saw a woman in a brown business suit with black hair done up in a tight bun. She was sipping on one of the fruity drinks that Junior loved to make. If he had to guess it looked like a Strawberry Sunrise. "Fine," he grumbled to her. "Are my clothes still in the back room?" She sauntered off, popping her hips as she did. "I am _soooo_ pranking you tonight."

"Cut her some slack," Miltia told him as she walked up to him. "She's not happy with our bills for this month. The landlord wanted more money because we incurred some damages after a neighbors' dog got loose, got into our house, and then chewed up the floor."

"…What?" Miltia followed him to the backroom where his spare clothes for times like these were stashed. Junior liked Naruto a lot, but he didn't like him when he showed up covered in blood. Most of the times he did it as a joke but now that the novelty of the joke was wearing off, Naruto wasn't too sure about doing it anymore. Today was just an accident. "That sucks. If you two need help…"

"We're fine. She's just upset from the increase in the pay for this. Give her a few days and she'll settle down." She shut the door behind herself and leaned against it. Naruto pulled his shirt off and she turned away as he changed into new clothes. "So why did you refuse the job? This should have been easy. Having a change of heart?"

"No," Naruto said with a grunt while pulling on his slacks.

He hated them just as much as Melanie hated him wearing orange. There was nothing wrong with orange. There was, however, a great crime being committed by his awesomeness being forced to look nice and business like for someone he didn't much care to see when he was a paid mercenary. As much fun as he had arguing with Melanie over what he was, he knew that deep down he was nothing but a contract killer. Pay him enough money and give him enough resources, and you might get exactly what you paid for. His latest job involved him "evicting" a family of three out of their home by an upset business owner. Of course said business owner was also dead, but that was because he refused to pay up after the deed was done.

It wasn't really like Naruto was a bad guy either. He had done a little bit of good in the world every now and then. Shortly after meeting Ruby and "scaring" her into not going to a weapon shop as often, he found a peculiar little cat Faunus being arrested for simply being in the area. Honestly, it was amazing they even figured out given how it was nothing but the stupid cops that found her. But even a bunch of brain dead idiots could spot something amiss with the little girl in black. Stealing seemed to be her thing that got her caught and when they arrested her they were quick to notice that her bow twitched.

So being the good person that he was, Naruto paid her bond and then settled everything later that night by breaking in and stealing all the evidence pertaining to her case. Without any evidence they weren't exactly boned, but a quick call to Ozpin set everything straight and gave her passage to Beacon. While Naruto had also received another offer to join, he politely declined and continued to do things his way.

Throwing his shirt on and then grabbing a red button up shirt, Naruto grumbled out, "I'm not changing my ways. But I am not suicidal. I refuse to do a job that puts me against three powerful teams of Huntsman that I know could kill me without breaking a sweat. My semblance might be powerful but it's not that powerful."

Miltia huffed at the idea of his semblance having power behind it. She hadn't seen it. Only Junior seemed to know what it was and he wasn't sharing. "So you're not going to do that job but you're most likely going to get another assassination job from this person."

"Well we don't know that. Maybe this Scarlett Schnee just wants me to have sex with her. That'd be a thing. I'd probably turn that down, though."

"You'd turn down sex where they're paying _you_?"

"I don't know what she's got up her ass. What if she's got some sort of terrible disease that makes me sterile? At some point in my life I would like to have kids. Maybe three kids. One boy and two girls. That sounds about right."

"Three kids? Two girls and one boy?"

"The son would be the oldest and he would look after his little sisters when I can't. He would be the daddy that I can't be when it is needed. Plus I'd like him to pester them and learn that women are terrifying and powerful creatures that can both make a man and destroy him. It's sort of a running thing in my life that all women I know can kick my ass. I'm not sure why." Naruto stopped to check himself in the mirror for a moment. "How do I look?"

Miltia turned around with twitching eyes. Naruto was finishing up by tucking his shirt in when she reached forward and unbuttoned the top button on his shirt and then turned his collar down. "Now go to your meeting. You look presentable… though I fail to see why you even need to look good anyways."

"Even I don't know the answer to that." Taking a deep breathe, he opened the door only to stop at the door and faced her. "So what's the point in you dressing up? That doesn't make much sense. You _are_ just a guard."

Crossing her arms underneath her bust and gave him a dark smile. "Perhaps I do this to gain the watchful eyes of men that may gain my interest."

Naruto face fell as he stalked up to her a put a hand on her shoulder. Her eyes narrowed. "All that does it make you look like a whore that wants sex. As much I like the outfit on you, I think you should wear something else unless you want to wind up in a dumpster somewhere someday." Her eyes twitched in response and she slowly turned away from him. Naruto slowly cupped her chin and pulled her gaze back to him. "I may joke a lot about you two, but you are really good friends to me. So I do care about you. This is me caring." He let go and walked out the door.

Miltia stayed for several minutes before following after him and ended up missing the meeting that she needed to eavesdrop on.

(-)

"Sorry that I'm late. I just got back from a job and I do like to dress to impress," Naruto confessed as he sat down in front of Scarlett Schnee. The woman gave a tight smile as she saw his tail wrap around his waist before sitting down. "So I understand you request me for a job?"

"Yes," she replied bitterly. Naruto narrowed his eyes slightly. "Sorry but I was under the impression you were human, not a Faunus."

Smiling through her harsh tone, the blond clasped his hands and said, "Well I am terribly sorry for that. I do know that the Schnee Family has a very low tolerance for Faunus," as politely as he could. It was easy to spot his sarcasm. "So what's the job?"

Scarlett cleared her throat as she laid her scroll down on the table and clicked it. A hologram showing one of Mistrals' islands appeared between them. "Mistral, as you know, has over a dozen islands surrounding it. Each one is inhabited by over a thousand people. This island is called The Distant Haven and is the location for your job. The job will be a simple guard and escort one. The nature of the job is to secure information that the SDC wants currently." Naruto brow furrowed together as she changed the image to a bunch of charts. "The island in question is rich in Dust and the SDC has bought the rights to it. Naturally we'd start mining it, but we ran into a small snag. Before any mining could be done there was a series of seismic anomalies that took the life of three workers and over a dozen civilians in the town five miles west of the worksite."

"So I'm to guard people from a natural disaster?"

"It's not a natural disaster. This is something else entirely." She pointed to one of the graphs that had a spike going up and then down sporadically. "Earthquakes can vary in duration and power. You could say that Vale is currently being hit by one right now and we just can't feel it."

"So earthquakes are bad. Got it."

"They can be good as well. But I'm not going to waste my time speaking of such things. So we're putting together a team to go investigate the odd seismic anomalies. The reason this is strange is because the location for which they originated is at least a thousand meters below the surface of where we want to mine. Normally they'd be further underground, but what makes this whole thing stranger is that it's rising to the surface. The last scan put it at least seven hundred meters below the surface."

Naruto tapped his fingers on the table in thought. Scarlett looked worried as he leaned back and started drumming his fingers harder and faster before stopping. "So what do you think this is?"

"Honestly, I don't know. I'm not a huntsman. I'd like to assume we haven't found a nest of some sort, but with the way this acting…"

"It could be a volcano," Naruto told her. She laughed and adjusted her glasses. "You don't think so?"

"Uzumaki, there is no volcano on this island. It wouldn't be amazing to see such a thing on it. But I highly doubt that's what this is." Naruto took a deep breath and ran a hand over his face. "This thing is rising to the surface. Whatever it is we want to know. The Mistral Government wants answers as well. They've turned to us for information on this and have allowed us to send in our specialists. Our specialist has the equipment necessary for this operation. We have been working on a new sonar scanner just for this. The operation won't be going down for a month of two if we're lucky. We are trying to be _very_ thorough about this."

"And all I have to do is guard these people?"

"That is your job, yes. While we would love nothing more than to use the Huntsman and other military personal that Mistral has, their current government is in a state of decay that could lead to a civil war. The island we're sending you to is currently occupied by both sides of this potential war. To that end we're reaching out to other Huntsman and our private military force to ensure the safety of our scientist."

"Then why come to me?"

She tapped her scroll and an image of a wanted poster came up showing Naruto, a woman with long black hair and red eyes, another man with black hair and white eyes, and a man with brown hair with red triangles pointing down his cheeks. Each wanted poster showed a bounty for each person. Naruto's bounty wasn't nearly as high as the two people with black hair. "We understand that you and a group of people are wanted in Mistral for your terrorist attack on Flight 107 that killed two hundred plus people, including the two Council Members that help govern them. But you did kill Dr. Theodor Thadius in your act, so that's a plus to us."

"Why?"

"His research was very… alarming to us. To show good will for your actions, we are currently speaking with the Mistral Government to gain you pardon for your actions. Should we get the pardon for you, you will be allowed to enter Mistral again and do this job for us. If you complete the job we can remove all crimes you've committed in Mistral."

"I left a lot of bodies behind in Mistral."

"And we'll cover each and every one of them up. But you must complete the mission we're giving you. To make things easier, we are also in the process of procuring other members to assist you. While we would like to gain the aid of the Mistral forces, due to their current problems, we fill more secure in finding people of questionable allegiances to Mistral. You'll be happy to know that the Wolf of Vacuo will be joining you in this operation."

"That just _fills_ me with confidence."

"I understand that you two don't work well together. But we don't care if you hate each other. As long as you work together, that's fine."

Naruto drummed his fingers on the table for a while. He kept his eyes closed and when he opened them, his scalar was red. "I'll do the job. But if he gets out of line, I _will_ kill him."

"Do what you want; but understand that I may not be able to guarantee your payment if you kill members of your team." Naruto's left eye twitched in irritation. She picked up her scroll and flicked the hologram off. "We'll be in contact, Uzumaki." She walked out the door while popping her hips. Naruto watched her go with a snort of indifference before grabbing up his drink and downing it in one go.

"I'm drinking tonight," he muttered while walking out onto the open floor and up to the counter. Junior was cleaning of a cup. "Something strong and dark, please." Miltia put a beer down and sat beside him. Naruto took the beer and started hammering it down. "I hate that lady," he finally breathed out in a rasp.

"You've met her before?" Junior asked carefully.

Naruto drank the rest of the beer and slammed it down. Miltia gave him another one. "Yes," he answered hatefully. "The last time I saw her she went under the alias of Rose Ycaruse, and before that she was Ruby Hyuuga." Naruto drank some of his beer, his anger finally starting to subside. "She had me go on various jobs and for a while the pay was great, but then she made me work with someone else as a handler and… well… Flight one hundred and seven happened."

"So you were there when the plane went down?" Junior asked.

"I wasn't just there. I pulled the trigger on the rockets. They told me we were destabilizing Mistrals' economy for Vacuo. I didn't much care about what was being done or why. The pay was good and I did it. Then they cut us loose and we became wanted people in Mistral. Strange that it didn't reach out here to Vale or back to Atlas. Maybe it never got out because they only have a picture of my face from back then when I wore a mask." He laughed and shook his head. "Well when she cut us loose she told the Mistral Government out names, so I highly doubt that's the case."

"So if she cut you guys loose, why come back and recruit you now for a job?" Miltia asked. She was in the middle of making a mix drink for herself. Melanie already had a mix drink and was currently sucking it down.

"Who knows? I did good work. I followed orders. Maybe she just wants to keep me on a short leash so I don't go against her. Whoever she is, she does have some interesting means of getting around. I don't know her real name." Naruto downed the beer and motioned for another. Junior provided the drink and watched as the blond sucked it down. "It doesn't matter. This job isn't going to be for a while. So I have time to get some information on this woman and the state of affair in Mistral."

"Well I can tell you that the state of affair there isn't as great as they want people to believe. It is in the hole right now with a chance for civil war breaking out. If that does happen, then things are going to get messy there real fast. The White Fang have been using their trade routes for their illegal activities. The last known usage they had of that trade route was the bombs they smuggled out that they used on the SDC mining facility in New Haven. That was three months ago. They traced the bombs to a manufacturing plant out of Haven. The weapon creator was Ycaruse Industries. The supplier was the main guys' older son."

"I remember. They put him down shortly after that. Cobalt, I think his name was." Naruto took another long pull from his drink and sighed. "I really hate my job sometimes. I mean I like the fact that I go places and do amazing things, but at the end of the day, it's kind of boring."

Naruto got up and grabbed two more beers and moved to a table away from them. Miltia grabbed her mix drink and followed after him. Naruto sat down at the table and started drinking. Miltia sat down beside him to watch him drink. It was a long time before Miltia said, "Are you truly going to go on this mission? If they cut you lose what are you going to do?"

The blond finished his beer and then started on the second one. "I'll kill everyone to get out. I'm good at hiding and escaping when I need to. So this won't be anything new to me."

"You're most likely be cut while in the hands of the military?"

"Then I kill everyone and escape." He took another long pull from his drink. "It won't be the first time I've done it. That bitch left me high and dry in Vacuo during an operation that she wanted us to do. We had to kick a mobster that was a witness that was under military protection since he was an eyewitness in an investigation a war crime that was done by an entire squad. We didn't know the full details of what we were getting into. When we offed the person that we were sent after we were cut lose and the military tried to get us. It was only after everything went down that we figured out what had happened."

"How'd you escape?"

Naruto finished off his beer and motioned for another one. "We killed everyone in order to escape. When we got out of there we were told that our action managed to stop the trial and gain the pardon of the troops responsible for the war crime. In the end, we learned that it brought out a great deal of hatred amongst the people. That hatred brought a lot of Grimm o the city and in the end our actions caused the death of a lot of people. In the end the only thing that mattered was that we survived."

Melanie brought over his last beer. "We're closing now," she told him.

Naruto nodded as he got to his feet. He stumbled towards the door and a helping hand stetted him. Glancing at the owner of the helping hand, he smiled when he found it to be Miltia. "Let's get you home," she told him.

Naruto finished his beer with a laugh. "…Thanks…" Miltia smiled and helped him get home. "Do you think I should do this?"

"The job?" She nodded. "I can't not take it. As much I'd like to turn her down, if I don't do this, I might end up on a wanted poster out here." They walked up the steps to his apartment. Naruto fished out his keys and opened the door. She helped him in and moved to his bed with him. Naruto collapsed on his bed and laughed as he sat up and said, "I'm not done drinking," as he wobbled over to the fridge. Miltia watched with worried eyes as he pulled out two beers and tossed one her way. She snatched it out of the air and noticed the label was removed. "I start drinking when I was sixteen. I got a fake ID and I buy whatever I want when I want it. This is just one of those drinks."

Popping the top she took a swig of it and sat down on the floor. Naruto returned to his bed and continued drinking.

"So do you have a lot of things you regret?" Miltia asked carefully.

Naruto struggled to remove the cap from his drink. Miltia helped him with it. The alcohol was already setting in on him. "…Yeah…" he finally said. "There are a lot of things I regret doing. Some of them are things I wish I could change. But the sad truth is that I wouldn't be nearly as happy as I am if I didn't do them. Do I regret making those choices? Yes. Am I happy in the end? Yes." Naruto finished his beer and moved to the fridge to grab another one. He slammed the door shut to it and stared off into space before blurting out, "If things were different, I'd be dead and they'd be laughing," as he moved back to the bed.

Confused by his words, Miltia opened her mouth to speak but then noticed that he had returned to normal as if he had sobered up. "I guess I should go," she told him. She finished her beer and wobbled as she got to her feet. Naruto was quickly beside her helping her stand. "I'm good. It won't be the first time I've wobbled home before."

"You're not going anywhere like that." He guided her to his bed where she sat down and took a deep breath. "It's not safe at night around these parts. I'll sleep on the floor." He got up to get more blankets and stopped when she didn't let go of his hand. "…Are you okay?" he asked with a slur.

Slowly her free hand wrapped around his waist and she hoisted herself up to him. He was surprisingly taller than herself. Half drunk, her lips locked with his. For a full second he fought the kiss before dropping his beer and grabbing hold of the back of her head to press deeper into the kiss. She let go of his wrist and began undoing his pants with her freehand. Naruto broke the kiss. "Don't stop," she ordered tiredly as she pulled him close again. Forced to bend to her will, he continued to his tongue war with her. His right hand went to her breast while his left hand went to her butt. "Take me now," she ordered after breaking the kiss for air.

Slowly, Naruto untied the lace on the back of her dress and everything became a blur.

(-)

 _Why are my hips so sore?_ That was the first thing to go through Miltia's mind as her mind registered the suns' rays slipping through the blind and hitting her square in the face. Slowly, she sat up and a groan escaped Miltia's lips as she did. Her right arm and hand were asleep, so Miltia rubbed her eyes with her left. While she was trying to figure out the three main questions on her mind – _Where am I? What happened last night? And why are my hips so sore?_ – she swung her legs over the side of the bed and looked down to see her dress scattered amongst other various clothing.

But more to the point: Not her room.

"Ngn…" The groan to her right made Miltia look over her shoulder. With unruly blond hair sprawled across the pillow, a sleeping boy lay. A smile worked its way across Miltia's face.

"And that answers all of my questions," she mumbled. She looked down at the clothes on the floor and found her panties and her dress scattered amongst other clothes and other items.

Tentatively she got up hugging the thin sheet to her chest. It took a moment for her mind to settle from her original panicked state, but when rational thinking kicked in she remembered parts of last night. Glancing around the room she was quick to find her panties and quickly scooped it up, along with her dress, and made her way to the bathroom to shower and clean up.

Rolling her shoulder to wake it up, she grimaced as blood flow began to return to her limb, giving her a tingling feeling that made her groan. She turned the water on and felt it a few times before getting it just right.

 _Warm water will loosen me up._ She grimaced and rubbed her sore hips and back as she got in. As soon as she was in the shower she sighed in relief as the warm water began to do its work.

(-)

The sound of running water was the first thing Naruto heard when he started to wake up. Sapphire eyes blinked open and a sleepy hand reached around the empty of the bed. Once he could see more than blurry shapes, Naruto frowned at being unable to find Miltia beside him.

Last night had been a terrible mistake.

Naruto sat up in his bed and rubbed his eyes to further clear the blurriness from his eyes. Last night was a terrible mistake on both their parts. They were drunk. They had sex. Naruto was emotionally wrecked by the arrival of the woman under the alias of Scarlett Schnee. They both wanted it, but there wasn't a reason for them to do it.

Sighing, he got to his feet and touched his forehead as a headache began to form. The wonders of aura only went so far. They could heal bones in hours, mend flesh in minutes, but curing a hangover was not on their list of amazing abilities. If it was, every drunk in the world would try to unlock their aura.

Naruto walked to the bathroom and pushed the door opening, ignoring a whispered yelp of surprise. He picked a bottle of painkillers up from the sink and downed three of them without water before looking through the thick steam and spying the terrified form of Miltia. She did her best to cover her naked body, but Naruto didn't really. Care he'd seen it once. Seeing it again wasn't really anything surprising to him now.

"I'm taking the next one," he told her tiredly as he walked out. She breathed a sigh of relief. "Unless you want me to join you," he added. She groaned and finished cleaning up as quickly as she could. Once she was out of the shower she bolted from his apartment. Naruto took his shower and closed his eyes as he knew what would happen next. _Melanie is going to try and kill me._

He finished up and got dressed. Naruto began heating up his ramen before grabbing a pitcher and taking it into his computer room to water his plants. His monitor was flashing with a message. He ignored it until he watered his plants and grabbed his ramen. Once he was seated, he opened it and skimmed over most of it. It was a message from the contact and details on his operation. He skimmed them till he got to the end. He blinked and re-read the message two times before shaking his head. "Fucking hell," he grumbled as he turned the monitor. _I'll kill the both of them._ He walked out to take his punishment and start his work day with Junior as a bodyguard. There was no way this day was going to get any worse.

(-)

The idea of coincidence was that something happened without reason. For people like Naruto, the idea of a coincidence was like the idea of the moon being full of Ramen: Not possible. Over the years Naruto had grown used to the idea that everything happened for a reason. Nothing could not be explained with the power of science or just thinking really hard. In his mind, everything could be explained and if it couldn't, it was a lie, something Naruto was really good at doing or figuring out.

So when he stepped into the bar, he got the vibe of something being off and decided to see how it all played out.

Miltia avoided his gaze when he got to the bar. "I'll take something not dark today," he said tiredly. Miltia slowly brought him his drink and dutifully went back to work. Melanie watched the interaction carefully before Junior gave a nod and she moved to his side. Naruto dropped some lien on the counter to pay for his drink when a hand not belonged to Junior snatched up the money. "I'd drop it if I were you," Naruto warned while turning to face the owner of the hand.

A man in a bowler hate with orange hair – Was it natural? – wearing a white button down jacket and carrying a cane glanced his way. "Well thankfully I'm not you, so I'll be taking this." Naruto's grip tightened. The man winced and swore he could feel his wrist starting to crack. "Alright!" he bellowed, releasing the lien. "Have your filthy money, you mongrel."

"I'm a fox, actually. And get in line. I was here first." Naruto made a showing motion and started making the rest of his order. "Can I also get something sweet to drink? Wine, if possible." Junior shrugged and got Melanie on it. "So any new requests?"

"Not since the odd lady yesterday."

Naruto snapped his fingers and accepted the drink from Melanie. He took a sip and his eyes shot up. "What is this?"

"Moscato."

Naruto tasted it again and got up to let Junior conduct his business with the orange haired man. Naruto caught the tail end of, "…my bodyguard," before he was out of earshot. He sat down at a small booth and watched the two girls hover over Junior like hungry animals staring down a potential meal. The nagging feeling of something odd happening remained throughout their entire talk. When the orange haired man got up to leave, Naruto got to his feet only to stop when a woman with long blond hair walked in and eyed the place.

Naruto watched her carefully as the twins turned away from the man with orange hair and sat down beside their boss. Junior put his head in his hands. The blond haired girl moved to Junior and the twins. Naruto ground his teeth and moved to his side.

"Strawberry Sunrise. No ice. Oh! And one of those little umbrellas!" The blond haired woman smiled at the bartender as he began preparing the drink.

"Aren't you a little _young_ to be in this club, Blondie?" Junior asked.

"Aren't you a little _old_ to have a name like "Junior,"?" she asked with a laugh.

"So, you know who I am? You gotta name, Sweetheart?"

Arms crossed, she gave him a seductive smile. "Yes, Junior, I've got several. But instead of a Sweetheart, you can just call me Sir!" And then she grabbed nuts. Junior faced became one of shock and then pain in an instant. The men watching drew weapons to defend their boss.

Naruto grabbed a beer from behind the counter and started nursing it, intent of drowning away his sorrows from last night.

"People say you know everything," the woman's voice changed from sweet and innocent to demanding in an instant. She brought out her scroll and showed a picture of a woman with dark hair wearing a black and red outfit. It was hard to make out the outfit, but Naruto could see the face clearly. "Tell me where I can find her and I'll let you go!"

Junior hastily took in the image. Her gripped tightened when he took a second longer than what she wanted. "I've never seen her before! I swear!" His voice was a whimper and high pitched.

"Excuse me?!"

His eyes were tiny as her grip tightened. "I swear, Sir!" Junior quickly glanced around for his three bodyguards. Miltia was most likely in the back doing inventory while Melanie was probably beautifying herself in the bathroom. She supposedly had a date tonight that was showing up. When his eyes tracked down the mercenary blond, he ground his teeth at the sight of him raiding his stash of strong beverages. "Naruto," he squeaked out. "Get over here…" the strange blond girls' grip tightened on his nuts, "…and do your job!"

Naruto wobbled over to them, his eyes unfocused. "Can we talk about my raise?"

"What?!"

Naruto took a long pull from his captured beer and whipped the froth from his mouth with his sleeve. "Can we talk about my raise?"

"What?! Now?! Why?" Junior screamed as the blond haired woman began rolling her wrist. Junior yelped with pain. "Fine! I'll double it! Now – AHH! – do your job!"

"Thank you!" Naruto turned around and wobbled off, leaving a confused blond woman behind and a seething Junior as he sat down at the counter to finish his drink.

"…Right…" She turned her gaze back on the man who's nuts she held in a vice-like grip. Her eyes danced around the rest of the club. A few dozen men in black outfits with red ties and sunglasses had circled around her like fish hungrily awaiting a meal. Her smile grew. "Looks like we have an audience… This must be kind of embarrassing for you, huh? Awkward~"

"Listen, Blondie – Sir – if you wanna make it out of this club alive, then I suggest you let me go. No-"

A sonic boom ripped between the two. The blond haired girl released Junior in favor of covering her ears with Junior doing the same. Junior fell to his knees and doubled over. The strange woman dropped to one knee and groaned as the ringing in her ears grew louder. Eyes tightly shut, she never saw the left hook that came barreling into her stomach that forced the wind out of her lung and sent spittle flying from her mouth.

Eyes cracked open, she found the sight of the drunken blond standing before her with his left arm already sailing for her face. She threw up a hasty defense only to miss entirely as his fist penetrated her defense and nailed her in the side of the temple. She dropped to both knees and fell flat on the ground.

"I really don't like fighting women," Naruto said as he knelt down beside her. He grabbed her hair and started dragging her out. "Is it sexiest to hit you? Is it more sexiest to not hit you? I mean the line has always been sort of in the gray area of things. You hit me for no reason, I can hit you and claim self-defense all I want, but it just gets thrown into the air thanks to the media." Naruto walked outside and happily tossed her to the other side of the park lot where she groaned. "Listen, I don't know where you got your information that Junior knows everything, but he really doesn't know _everything_ or he'd be locked up somewhere for knowing things he shouldn't."

Coughing, the girl got to her feet and wobbled as the ringing in her ears began to die down.

"Listen, you seem like a good person. I'd hate for you to get in trouble doing something stupid. So how about next you not grab some guys' nuts and demand information. There is a better way to do it. Try battering next time. It'll save you a beating, Yang Xiao Long." Before she could ask how he knew her name, Naruto punched her one more time with his left arm and knocked her out. _I really hate fighting women._ He walked back inside to do damage control with Junior and enjoy the perks of his raise.

A/N

So just so we're clear, Naruto is not an official "good guy" and he's not a "bad guy" either. He's in the middle of that fine line. Naruto will kill an "good guy" just as well as he will kill a "bad guy". Naruto is a mercenary and will fight for whoever pays him the most. And just so we're clear, Naruto, during the two years that hasn't really been drawn out yet, is meant to know things that no other person really knows. Having said that, he doesn't know everything, like how Junior didn't know where Raven was or how later on he doesn't know where Roman is. So there are things that Naruto knows and things that Junior knows and that's why I have him work here as a mercenary/bodyguard.


	5. A Hero of War?

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A/N

This story is entirely fan-made and fictional. Any acts that you might find offensive, disguising, inhuman, wrong or just don't like, we are not liable for. You are reading this story of your own free will and not being forced, if you don't like something we are not forcing you to stay and read it. Please leave the page and re-frame from reading the chapter and or story. All Copyrighted Characters belong to their respect owners. We don't claim anything that is not our own creation and are merely using them for fan made material.

We accept constructive criticize and help but being rude and disrespectful will not be tolerated. This is done for the fun of writing not to make every little person happy, while making people happy with are stories is great we are not here for Money, Fame or Fortune this is done for the simply joy of writing.

Chapter 5

"I really hate jobs like these."

People who passed her by gave her a seductive look as they marveled over her shallow cut black dress that left a lot of skin visible for any hot blooded man or woman to marvel at. With a string of five different necklaces, her black hair pulled back into a ponytail, a red girdle-belt and a pair of matching gauntlets to her outfit, Raven Branwen made any sexually active person excited.

A little over a week ago she was called in to Mistral to work with three individuals. When she heard that Naruto was one of the people she was working with, she jumped at the chance to meet him again. Their last operation might have been nothing more than a trick by some high ranking government officials, but he was a powerful person for his age and he was fun to hang out with when drinks were thrown around.

 _I wonder if he'll be happy to see me._ She found her bag and snatched it up off the conveyer belt before it could make another go around. With it slung on her back she marched outside, fishing out a pair of keys as she did. Raven looked at the sky and then fanned herself with her free hand.

Mistral, despite being a swampy place to the west, was still a very humid and wet place far in the east. With the west side being mostly swamp places this area was more tropical than swamp. Despite Distant Haven being a small island, it was populated with over a thousand innocent lives and home to a small military base that was used as a testing ground for weapons and military drills with Huntsman.

Currently a small squad was here on the island undergoing weapon training and squad drills. An active Huntsman of Mistral was leading them on this operation and would be the handler for the soldiers. Raven was to act as the leader for the three assets that Scarlett had procured. As long as they both played their parts, the squad would get an evaluation based on how well they followed orders, and if combat became a thing, their combat abilities when facing Grimm. Raven, Naruto, and the other two would get their names cleared from Mistral through unknown methods should they complete their task. How Scarlett would do this was unknown, but if a woman that wore many faces had power like that, then she was a bigger player than what Raven was willing to contest with.

A red sports car with a black cloth top beeped when she clicked the alarm button on the key. She smiled. Red was her favorite color. Matched her eyes. Long ago she had considered dying her hair red, but Tai had talked her out of it when they were together. She tried it a few years ago. It didn't work out.

Raven opened the trunk and threw her bag in the back. She pulled the door open and smiled as she started the car up. It roared to life and then purred. She flipped through the radio stations until she found a rock song that she liked. Raven adjusted the seat and once she had it set to her liking, a grin tugged at the corner of her lips. Once her seat was set she began fiddling with the air conditioner. Once that was to her liking, she leaned back in the chair and took a breath of deep air.

Her car wobbled and her smile grew. A grunt and a groan sounded moments later as someone cursed while trying to slam the trunk shut. Once it was shut, there was a huff and the passenger door was yanked open. A red haired woman wearing a tan colored shit, a white beanie, blue vandalized jeans, and combat boots sat down.

"I fucking hate flying. It fucking sucks!"

Raven threw the car in reverse and started driving. "Still get airsick, Tayuya?"

"Fuck you, you bird bitch!"

Raven's mouth cracked in a silent laugh.

Tayuya was the most foulmouthed woman she had ever had the pleasure of meeting. She could safely say that she met both sides of the coin now. Tayuya, the foulmouthed woman from Vacuo, and then there was Summer Rose, the sweetest, most innocent, woman she had ever had the pleasure of working for. Tayuya couldn't really say a single sentence without a curse word of some sort. Summer only ever cursed once that Raven remembered. Both meetings involved the same curse word being uttered by the two women.

"Bitch," Raven said with a laugh.

Summer, upon meeting Raven, muttered "Bitch" as she held her wounded side. Their meeting had been in a fight against Grimm. Her face had looked so cute when she realized what she said that Raven had lost herself in the fight after that, instead spending five seconds to laugh wholeheartedly at the woman that had cursed for the first time in her life. Tayuya did the same thing, but she had looked livid not about cursing, but being hurt by a Grimm. Raven found the whole thing to be funny. Not just because she found two complete polar opposites, but because, in some way, she saw Summer in Tayuya in a way that was not easy to put into words.

"So…" Tayuya pulled out a black, silver and green dagger that was as long as her forearm with a blade just as thick. Along hilt of the blade were three flute-looking buttons, a large flute-like opening on the guard, and four holes along the top of the blade. "…how'd they get you?"

Raven pulled the car out onto the freeway, put the top down, and slung her left arm out the window as she drove with one hand. "I think the same person that found you found me." She answered cryptically. Tayuya swore under her breathe. "You know who we're working with, don't you?"

Tayuya put the odd dagger in her lap. Her eyes shut tightly. "I'm aware of who we're working with."

"You're not going to throw yourself at him, are you?"

"If by "throw myself at him" you mean "kick him in the nuts" then yes! I am!" Growling, she picked up her weapon and marveled at it with a smile. "It wasn't all bad back then. I got this out of it. That weapon girl – What's her name? – managed to craft this for me. I should go see her again and see if I can get something else to compliment it."

"I don't think she'd be able to make another one of those or something better. That truly is a one of a kind weapon for you." Raven huffed and looked at the mirror. A black car was following them. "So how long were you here before I got here?"

"Thirty minutes," she confessed while examining her nails. Raven nodded mutely while stirring the car off the freeway. Tayuya grabbed her weapon and glanced at the side mirror. "I didn't do anything illegal."

"It could be the military." Tayuya snickered. "You disagree?"

"I'll believe that they're smart enough to do something like this when I see them without their heads up their asses." The red eyed beauty got back on the freeway. The black car remained behind them. Tayuya brought the dagger to her lips.

"Don't," Raven ordered quietly. She watched them driver twitch and slow his car down. "He knows we know he's following us." Tayuya snorted. "He's going to back off. We can't lose him. If this person is following us, others are probably following us."

"They want to know why we're fucking here." Tayuya sighed and scratched her chin. "Find a hotel to stay in?"

Grinning, Raven started driving normally as she got off the freeway and pulled into the heart of the city. The black car kept following them. Raven found a hotel and pulled in. "Can you get the room for us?"

Tayuya rolled her eyes and got out with a low curse.

Raven watched her go and brought out her scroll and dialed a number. It rang a few times before a males' voice came over the line. _"Raven?"_

"Hey! How are things?"

" _It's seven in the morning! Why are you calling me?"_

"Can't a _mother_ worry about her child?" There was a roar in the background. Her eyes narrowed. "Are you answering my call while training?"

There was a loud crunch and a scream. _"…Eating, actually…"_ There was a ripping sound in the background. _"So how was your flight?"_

"It was good. Do you remember Tayuya?"

"… _Crazy, cussing, flute-dagger lady…?"_

"Yes. That one."

" _Then unfortunately I do. How's her ass, since her last boyfriend wrecked it."_

"I haven't noticed or asked how her ass is." Tayuya stepped into the car. "I can let you talk to her~"

" _Hell no! Now let me finish eating and then I'll talk to you! I'm hungry and I haven't eaten in four days!"_ The line went dead and Raven sighed.

"You're _adopted_ son, I presume?"

"Give me the number," Raven hissed out. Tayuya forked over the keycard and Raven put the car into drive to find the room they'd be staying in. The black car appeared shortly after they pulled away. It didn't take them long to find the room they were staying in. Raven tossed the keycard back to Tayuya. "I'll get our bags."

The two exited the car and went on their separate tasks. Raven grabbed the two duffle bags and watched carefully as the black car passed them by with two women up front. They parked a few cars down and got out with a small child cheering happily about visiting a park later. Letting it go and shutting the trunk, she walked up to the door and knocked twice for the redhead to open it.

The black haired beauty put the two bags on the bed as the redhead shut the door and took off her shirt and slipped out of her pants. Raven arched a brow at the sight of a scar that ran across her stomach and up across her left breast. Tayuya grabbed her duffle bag and started tearing through it to pull out a different outfit that consisted of a tan colored tank top under a black flak jacket that showed off her mid rift, elbow pads, black fingerless gloves with a brace that went halfway up her forearm, and black fatigues with matching combat boots.

Raven fished out a rotary sheath containing multiple types of dust blades inside it. She fiddled with the trigger on the handle to her sword and the rotary spun to life before clicking as a blade was made ready for her.

"You ready to go?" Raven dawned a full Grimm mask and switched out her sandals for thigh-length black boots with a red splatter pattern on them. Tayuya twirled her dagger with a frown. Nodding, Raven drew her sword and swung it to create a black and red swirling portal behind her. "Let's go meet the boys."

They stepped in and the portal closed.

(-)

"I heard that this entire operation is a waste of my time and your time."

"Uh-huh."

"You're a mercenary that gets paid to kill people."

"Yes I am."

"And yet they want to have you, a known killer with a kill count reaching close to three hundred, guard some nerd that's sending computer magic into the ground."

"That about sums it up."

"Does the client have her head up her cunt?"

"Hey, Kiba, do you remember when I said that I was pretty desperate to use the toilet?"

"…Yeah…"

"And I told you once that I get pee-shy around people."

"Uh-huh."

"SO WHY THE HELL ARE YOU STANDING RIGHT NEXT TO ME WHILE I'M TRYING TO TAKE A PISS?"

"…Because it annoys you, Home Wrecker…!"

Naruto cracked his neck as he turned it sharply to his companion with a twitching eye. "Don't look at me. Don't speak to me. Don't breathe my air. Not. A. Fucking. Word."

Kiba cracked a victorious grin. "I can see your wiener~"

"OH MY GOD!" Naruto zipped his fly and went into the stall for handicapped people. Kiba laughed as he started washing his hands. Naruto finished up and came out to clean up as well. Once they were cleaned up and back on the path they were following to their two teammates that would be joining them for the operation.

Naruto cracked his neck and eyed Kiba and his getup. Kiba was like most people from Vacuo: Didn't wear clothes that would be common sights in cities. He wore tattered brown hakama-styled pants with a brown obi sash to keep his pants up with a brown button up shirt left opened that was one size too big for him and a pair of fingerless gloves that ended halfway up his forearm. At first glance it would be incredible hard to note that he was a Faunus, but his eyes, despite looking rather normal, where slanted ever so slightly. His father was human, and his mother had a human mother, but a big majority of his family happened to be Faunus. His Faunus trait was watered down enough through the two human family members he had that it was hard to even notice it.

To complete his odd image of a true native of Vacuo, he wore a dirty old bandana that he folded over to make a headband.

Kiba, unlike Naruto, looked like a chiseled athlete with abs any man would want. His uncontrolled brown hair gave him the wild side that most young girls thought they could tame. Shame that he was both untamable and a man with his own odd fetish that no woman could really stand.

Naruto met Kiba some ten years ago when his family came to Atlas to see about getting him into one of their schools rather than ones in Vacuo. Faunus were treated a little fairer in Vacuo, but the idea of getting their child, a prodigy in combat arts and the fullest extent of a Semblance that their family had wanted, was too good to truly pass up. Sadly, the school Naruto was going to was "full" and couldn't take another student at the time. Naruto and Kiba became friends when they had a fight on the playground after Kiba's puppy, Akamaru, bit Naruto's tail. The end result was the fight, but the forced apologies their parents made them give to one another was what made them friends.

This was odd when one considered what both of them technically were.

Naruto was a fox Faunus.

Kiba was a canine Faunus, or more accurately, a hound dog Faunus.

The endless jokes the two played on one another during their parents' stay was never ending and to this day still ongoing. About two years into their friendship they started a game with it and were keeping score on who out did who. Currently Kiba had the lead, but that was because of this little bathroom debacle. Naruto had tied it up about a year and half ago when he stole Kiba's at the time girlfriend. Needless to say, the name "Home Wrecker" was a common nickname for Naruto after that.

A large white dog jumped to its feet at the sight of the two. Kiba scratched him behind the ears and started talking to him funny. Naruto paid him no mind and pulled out his scroll to answer a message. Miltia sent him a picture of Yang back at the club with a message asking when he was coming back.

Shaking his head, Naruto typed back a response and put his scroll away. Honestly, he was going to have to deal with Yang one day. Hopefully not today or tomorrow, or next week, or the following week. Ever since her beat down by him – Yes! That was what he called it. – Yang had returned for either a rematch or information on how he knew her name. It was actually getting bad now. If she showed up again, Junior was going to take a shot at her. Naruto really liked Yang. She was a nice person, fun to mess with, and a bit of a prankster. If things were different and Naruto went to Beacon he might enjoy spending time with her and seeing where things went.

Too bad his mom wouldn't approve.

"It's been a year since we last saw each other-" Kiba started.

"Thank Oum for that." Naruto cut in.

"-and I've been curious as to the new funniest thing you have seen." Kiba finished as though he hadn't been interrupted.

"Aside from your mom?" Kiba shot him a dirty look. Naruto cracked a grin. "So I watched a porno a few months back."

"Already liking this."

"It was a lesbian one. I was really into the lesbian thing, now it's back to the usual stuff for me."

"Guy on guy action, I know."

"And after all the fingering, the licking, the sucking of the boobs, the two ladies had trouble managing to get a double headed dildo to work between them. It was about five minutes of them trying to position themselves and then get the motion down. I had to stop-"

"As one must to jerk it."

"-to laugh for a full two minutes because at one point they got up, switched sides on the couch, and then proceeded to try again as though their position on the couch was wrong." Naruto scratched his chin and then started laughing. Kiba was in the middle of a fit of giggles at his own jokes during the story. "Honestly, that was the funniest thing I've seen in a while. Doesn't help any blonde's case in the fact that both were blonds. Now, just so we're clear on this, this was a professional one, not am amateur one. So I believe that it was staged to do that, but as I have been lucky to not have a job in the porn industry-"

"It'd be an awesome job."

"-I highly doubt that it was real. And I'm very happy to not be in the porn industry. Have you seen some of that shit on the web? You know the money shot that's at the end? Supposedly it's mayonnaise they're using instead of the real stuff."

"So they don't use mayo instead?"

Naruto stopped and licked his teeth as the internal struggle to not shoot his friend came over him once again. No sooner had Naruto laid eyes on him did both teenagers consider murdering the other. Kiba had a more valid reason than Naruto ever could have currently. Naruto was a "Home Wrecker" by Kiba's definition of him, and for very good reason. Naruto had slept with all of Kiba's girlfriends and been the cause of the breakups over the last five years. Naruto wanted to kill Kiba because, well, Kiba was an "unknown breed" of dog-type Faunus. Naruto was a fox Faunus. Dogs chase foxes and kill them. Naruto had a deep instinct to run away from Kiba or failing that, murder him.

"So how's your girlfriend doing?" Naruto asked him, his face twisted into a form of annoyance. "Oh! Wait! I fucked her in the ass _too_! You suck at keeping girls around you." Kiba swung furiously at Naruto with one arm while looking forward. Naruto dodged each blow with a sick twisted grin on his face. "Don't worry; unlike you I can touch the bottom. You're only good for stretching them out, Red Rocket."

"You goddamn home wrecker!" Kiba stopped attacking when Akamaru whimpered. "She was a good person and you liked her, Akamaru. You liked all the girls I've dated."

"Probably because he loved the hand-jobs they gave him." Kiba's glare might have had the power to kill if one had such ability to do so. One could truly wish. "How many times did you use your _Semblance_ during sex? Go ahead. Think about it. Oh that's right! All the time to make yourself bigger, Red Rocket."

"You! Mother! Fucker!"

"Kiba, girls like guys with long rods. Not fat rods that only stretch them out. We've had this talk. Go ask your last girlfriend. Where is she? I haven't seen or heard from her since that night we did it on your bed."

"Still crippled and shit because of you."

A whirling sound hit them hard and a red and black portal appeared five feet in front of them. "Son of a bitch!" the familiar voice of an angry female coming through the portal was enough to make Akamaru put his tail between in his legs and cower behind his master. Naruto blinked at the voice. Out stepped Tayuya and Raven. "You!" Tayuya pointed at the two and they comically pointed to themselves as she marched towards. She walked passed Kiba and kicked Naruto in the nuts as hard as she could. Naruto dropped to the ground holding himself and howling in pain. "If this job doesn't kill you, I will, Uzumaki!"

"…What…" he started coughing and rolling on the ground. "…Did I do?" Naruto rasped out between coughs finally.

"Well you put me in the hospital, for one thing!" She kicked him again and he wheezed as all the air left his lungs. Kiba snickered and she whipped around on him, her finger jabbing hard into his chest. "You aren't off the hook either, asshole! You fucked everything up for me in the end! I should kill you right now. Actually," she grabbed her dagger and was stopped by Raven before she could kill him with it. "I'm going to kill you right now! Raven, let me go. He has to die!"

"How did I ruin anything between us? You ruined it when you decided to have sex with him on my bed!" Kiba pointed to Naruto as he lay on the ground gasping for air and holding himself. "You are just like Hinata. You date me, see him, fuck him on my bed, and then get angry with me when I don't take you back with open arms. Why should I take you back when you slept with that asshole on my bed? How does that make any sense? How am in the wrong?"

Raven let go of Tayuya and looked between the two boys. Tayuya cooled off enough that the threat of death wasn't in the air for her anymore. "…Wait… You're not dating Tayuya anymore, Kiba?" Her eyes danced to Naruto as he started to get back up and regain what little composure he now had. "Are you still dating Hinata?"

"You are _way_ out of the loop, Raven," Kiba confessed. "Naruto stole Hinata from me – which you know about – and then when I started dating Tayuya, he stole her away from me. He's also stolen Matsuri, Kin, May, Arsian, and Ember."

"To be fair, May threw herself at me, as did Kin. But Arsian was angry with you when I told her you weren't a virgin like you said you were and Ember didn't like the fact that you used your _Semblance_ when having sex. I stole Matsuri from you because, well, I was horny and she hot. If it makes you feel any better she is dating a redhead in Vacuo. I have no idea what his name is. I didn't look at the information long enough because I didn't care enough." Naruto pointed out thoughtfully.

"The next girl I date-"

"I will be right there to plow in the ass on your bed. I know."

Kiba stopped and stared at him. "Please stay in front me through all of this, could you? It'll make killing you _so_ much easier."

"What is with you and only anal, you dumb fuck?" Tayuya asked in her nicest voice when faking curiosity. Raven slapped her palm against her forehead on the mask and shook it as she could see where the entire conversation was going.

Naruto took a deep breath and said, "I was a mistake and nearly a bastard child. If there is one thing – One thing! – that I have learned from my dad it is that it is not a sin to plow a woman in the ass. They will not get pregnant unless an act of god happens and somehow my seed were to pass through the walls of that stinky cavity and go right for the sweet pink."

"You could just wear a condom!"

"They break. This has no faults to it. Except for that one girl that didn't like it. It was one of the girls that Ember was a part of. I think her name was Darcy? I could be wrong."

"…So if you had worn a condom you could have had sex and then tempted her into the glory of anal sex…" Tayuya pointed out.

"Can we get off the topic of sex, please?" Raven asked, putting her metaphorical foot down on the conversation. There was only so much anyone could take when they hadn't scored in a long time and been on the move with no time to stop and do the deed.

"Are we making you hot and bothered?" Kiba asked, sounding hopeful. Her sword was out in a flash and Kiba hastily backed off. Naruto stood his ground beside an unimpressed Tayuya.

"I will cut off your dick, Kiba. Don't think I won't. Lesser men have lost their parts for far less. I'd hate to do it to you."

"We wouldn't." Naruto and Tayuya chimed in. "And her name was Gwen Darcy. She's part of team NDGO." Tayuya informed him. Naruto laughed and nodded, remembering all four girls with that piece of information. "Also, she's a lesbian now. Just pointing that out for you."

"We'd still try." Kiba and Naruto said in unison. Infuriated, Tayuya stomped off to the meeting area where the military squad was waiting for them. Raven shook her head and followed after her, unhappy at their meeting with the boys. Kiba shoved Naruto forward as Akamaru growled. "Start walking. I'm keeping you in front of me the whole way there."

"I'm not a catcher. I'm a pitcher." Kiba looked lost by his statement. "Never mind, idiot."

(-)

The sound of tracer rounds firing, grunting males and females, engines roaring, and shouting people was less background noise for one Aoi Rokushō, and more of a musical number. The militaristic nature of the base might not be as great as some of the small bases Atlas had, but they were still impressive in their own right. Firing Ranges, motor pools, helipads, and an active runway made the base seem more legit than what most of the people working it could consider it to be.

Aoi inhaled the toxic fumes of smoke as a jeep went by and smiled. It wasn't a perfect life, but it was better than what it could be. Forced out of his home in Vale, forced to wonder with his little brother, and then winding up here in Distant Haven after graduating from Haven Academy, it made him a man of many talents and many hardships.

As a man who'd seen the world, endured more hardships someone twice his age should have lived through, it was no wonder that some would considered him the odd anomaly to the entire base when he was he showed up four years ago to act as a Huntsman that's sole purpose was to train their military to combat Grimm effectively.

Which was why he found the whole operation to be so backwards to what he was now being forced to deal with that it made him question the men in charge. Here he was on a Saturday that he should have off, working with a team that had just graduated and was to have their standard ten days off to reconnect with the world. But now they were being forced to babysit a scientist going out to check some odd seismic activity with a four questionably motivated people working for money, fame, an appetite for destruction, or a desire to just see the worlds' response.

Today was a day that he felt would break him.

It didn't help that as soon as the new squad was brought out to meet the four mercenaries while they wait for the head scientist to arrive.

"So you four are the people that are going to be aiding us in our over glorified babysitting job?" Aoi asked carefully.

Raven smiled behind her mask, a gesture that was completely unseen to everyone presently paying attention. "Not what I'd call it, but yes, we are that team." Raven placed a hand on the hilt of her blade and waited for something else to happen when she sensed a growing tension from the twelve selected soldiers present for the operation. "I assume you are the Huntsman that is in charge of this base?"

"No. I don't run things at the base. My job is to train the Mistral military for fighting Grimm when we can't get out to certain locations. Given that the Grimm in these areas are rather unique to this land, it goes without saying that the military here also needs to be trained to combat both normal types that they see every day and types that might somehow wonder onto our land."

"So you're a goddamn over glorified teacher, huh?" Kiba snarled out. Tayuya elbowed him in the ribs, electing a snarl her way for the jab. "I hate teachers as much as I hate unfaithful women. They can all go to hell."

"That's rich, Wolf of Vacuo, since you are currently in the presents of two unfaithful women right now." Aoi's jab was enough to make Tayuya's hand unconsciously reach for her weapon while the more mature and in control Raven twitched her head in the direction of the redhead, and more notably, Kiba. "Don't fret too much. I, like you, don't like unfaithful women. Though I suppose my views on the subject would be that I have a change against women that renounce their vows rather than those that would sleep with another person behind the back of the one they promise their love too."

"We could sit here for days talking about this stuff, but we have a job to do, thankfully." Raven took a calming breath as she steeled herself for the next batch of questions. "Aside from enhanced Beowolves and Ursa, what else do we need to worry about?"

Aoi shut his eyes and made a grabbing motion towards one of his men. They handed him a scroll. "This area, though we know you've been here, is home to four types of Grimm that are a common sight. We have a breed of Beowolves that are smaller, faster, but give up some of their strength as a tradeoff for their size and speed. These types are typically seen to run in packs of only four or more, but they are deadly and hold true to being territorial. They don't leave their hunting grounds, even after it's been bombed. As for the Ursa, they are a little different. They're bigger, stronger, and have survived decapitation for up to two minutes before dying. After that we have the more typical two we're known for."

He showed them an image of a humanoid-like Grimm that stood upright with arms that were the same length as the body and sporting four tendrils that looked like a tentacle on a jellyfish. It didn't have eyes or a "real" head that could be seen. Another image showed a turtle-like Grimm with long claws, a thick tail, and a shell made entirely of bone.

"These two are native to this land because it's an island. The jellyfish-like Grimm doesn't have to move to hurt you. Its tendrils can reach out to a length of up to twenty feet. When forced to flee from attackers it is shown to be very fast and its fish-like nature means it can live in the ocean and attack from the waters as well. We've been able to quarantine them in special areas of the island, but that doesn't mean they can't show up on base or out to where we're going. The turtle-like Grimm is another story and one of great study. They are the first known Grimm to be complete passive in nature, either because they simply are smart enough to not attack us or because they simply have no desire to die by our hands."

Naruto's eye twitched and his glance went north towards Atlas. … _Mariana Trench is…_ He glanced back at Aoi and smiled. _So Mistral keeps its Huntsman in the dark. She was right in the end. I'll have to pay up soon._

"Are there any Nevermore nests in the area?" Raven asked carefully.

Aoi shut the scroll and handed it back to someone else. "We haven't seen any. A scout team went out thirty-six hours ago and came back with no evidence of Grimm in the area we're going. We had a crew out there twenty hours ago to provide security for other researchers to take samples of the dust that we've found. I'm not a science guy, but basically, the dust was sucked dry of its property and left as an empty husk."

The masked woman let her hand slip from the hilt of the blade. "Sucked dry?" she repeated carefully and in a whisper. "That shouldn't be possible. We're talking about something that is pure energy given material from being drained of what makes it energy and leaving behind an empty husk. The entire idea behind that is just-"

"Is entirely probable with the right amount of extraction machinery or an Aura or Energy draining Semblance." Raven's head snapped in the direction of a woman with blond hair wearing small glasses. "Sorry, I have this thing about cutting in when people are talking that annoys them and rambling when I get nervous. Also, I find myself talking to empty air a lot." She looked around nervously and gave the members present an awkward smile. "And I'm doing it all again, huh?"

"Kind of," Aoi grumbled. "You must me Doctor Felicity, right?"

"Yes! Though I don't like it when people call me a Doctor. I'm not a doctor. I just got a degree in-"

"I don't care." Aoi cut her off with a wave of his hand. "Let's get this damn job done. I'm supposed to be going home to my wife for her birthday. Now unless you wanna send a letter to her or come with me to explain why I'm not home, since my boss won't, on her birthday, I'd suggest you start getting things in gear and getting this job done. My marriage is rocky right now. My job will not end it. Not today at least."

"…Right… Let's go!" Felicity started walking. The troops followed her.

Raven sighed and glanced at the two boys as Kiba leaned in and said, "She's wearing a garter belt in this heat?" Naruto snickered and started following the troops. Kiba gave a shake of his head as he followed after his fellow man.

(-)

"He left for a job, stupid." Melanie tapped her foot impatiently. A request from Miltia by word of mouth – Texting, really – was to not harm Yang. Why this was, Melanie didn't know. She didn't care. What she truly cared about was that the bounce bundle of joy that was the bimbo blond bombshell known as Yang left the club. She took orders from Junior first, her sister second, and Naruto never. She did, however, adhere to requests from said blond when presented with information and facts pertaining to said reason. 

To put it simple, Naruto requested that she couldn't harm Yang under the threat of someone stronger than himself coming down on her.

Naruto was not a pushover. She'd seen him work. He was a monster in every sense of the word when it came to fighting. And more notably, he was also very unpredictable. His odd sense of fighting, justice, morality, and even jobs all sprang up from him being unpredictable. So the idea of someone being able to best him, while not at all completely foreign to her, that he would admit to know, meaning that someone above him or near him, knew something about Yang that could pull down a higher power stronger than himself and onto her.

Melanie enjoyed living the life she had and wasn't about to give it up for a big breasted blond girl with issues of pent up sexual desires through the use of innuendoes and pranks, along with a desire for answer now rather than later with brutal tactics in mind. Yang was, in the easiest of ways, a woman that one could truly define an impatient person on some level with child-like delusions.

"So where did he go?"

"I don't know." Melanie tapped her foot faster. She could see Junior behind the counter, his hands inching towards his weapon. She made eye contact with him and made it clear to not interfere before directing her gaze back to the blond. "When he shows up, you can speak to him then. But until then, either get drunk and party without violence, or get out of the club. You're not getting any information about your mystery girl or Naruto, got it, Bimbo Girl?"

Yang folded her arms under her bust and leaned forward, invading Melanie's personal space and making it clear that she wasn't thrilled by the name. "I'm not leaving until he gets back or you tell me where he went." Slowly, almost methodically, she reached out and traced a line from Melanie's collar bone to her chest where she poked her hard enough to push her back. "Got it?"

"No I don't. You clearly don't understand the situation you're in. You either leave now or we call the cops on you for trespassing. We _do_ have access to information on you pertaining to arrests under destruction of public property and public indecency." Her eyes lowered to Yang bust, something she was pushing up with her left arm at the moment, then to her mid rift that showed too much skin, and finally her shirts which were too short to be legal for any school kid her age. Hormones were a terrible and beautiful thing outside of class, but in class, something like what she wore would certainly cause eyes to wonder in her direction.

"That last one was a lie." Yang declared heatedly.

"You're an embarrassment to women worldwide with that outfit." Melanie undid the top button to Yang jacket and glowered at her tank top. "This thing barely covers enough skin on you to count for anything appropriate. You're shorts are too short for someone your age to be walking around in. You are, for no other reason than of itself, a whore in a seventeen year olds' body. You might as well quiet Beacon right now and just go walk the streets in hopes of getting paid." Yang's lilac eyes shimmered red for a moment. "Did I hit a nerve, Whore?"

"I'm about to hit you!"

"Enough," Miltia exclaimed, sticking herself between a now enraged blond and her seething sister. "I remember the drink you liked. I'll make it for you, but you have to go sit over there at the booth." Confused by the odd demand, Melanie grabbed her sisters' shoulder only to be brushed off. "Go sit and _we_ will talk." She stormed off before a word of protest could come from the two. Yang glanced back to Melanie, scratching her head and awaiting a reply or demand from the white dress wearing sister before complying with the demand of the red dress wearing one.

Miltia was quick to make the drink and returned with a bottle of wine and a glass to match it. Yang pulled out the umbrella, a child-like moment of happiness passing through her eyes as she opened and shut it before twirling it between her thumb and index finger. Miltia poured some of the wine, slowly sloshed it around and then sipped on it.

"You're looking for Uzumaki Naruto, but sadly, he's away on a job working for someone going under an odd alias." Yang perked up suddenly and her expression was one of surprise. "I'm telling you this because you won't be able to get any information on this person that we already don't have, but I can tell you his location, but not the true location. Do you understand?" Yang nodded slowly. "Naruto is currently taking a job for a woman going by the alias of Scarlett Schnee. Naruto has confirmed that this person went under different names in the past, so it is clear that she isn't who she says she is. Naruto has done enough research on you to know that you are currently teamed up with Weiss Schnee, heir to the SDC and currently known youngest child he has."

"That's a little creepy that you know this, you know that right?" 

Taking a sip of her wine, Miltia let a sly smile tug at the corners of her lips. "Information is a terribly powerful thing. If you have, but don't know how to use it, you are lost. If you don't have it, but know how to use it, you are useless. I know that you're looking for a woman with black hair and red eyes that disappeared a year or so after you were born. No words, no photos, say for one that you found by chance, and an uncle and father that tell you she's dead." She sat her cup down and laced her fingers together. "But you're not here to know this. You're here to know his location. He's in Mistral. I don't know what part. Most likely, he isn't even in said Kingdom, but that could be a trick in of its self."

"So you think he's trying to play you all? I'm confused. Does he work for you or not?"

"He doesn't work _for_ us. He works _with_ us. There is a difference. He goes where he is needed and when he is needed. Naruto is currently away on a job in Mistral and that is all we know. We didn't ask why he was going, what the job required of him, or why he was selected. All we know is a location that could be falsified and a time in which he left. I don't know when he'll return. I don't if he'll return. All I know is that currently he is not here and you are wasting our time and your time in searching for a man that might as well be dead right now, as he isn't here. So instead of wasting your time away here, looking for someone that's not here and making impossible demands, how about you go back to class, study like the good little Huntsman you want to be, and leave us alone?"

"And what's in it for me?"

"Aside from me paying for your drink?" Yang stood up, ready to fight. "How about I contact you when he arrives? We'll be the first ones to know when he returns." Yang pulled out her scroll but the shorted haired sister raised a hand to silence her before she even spoke. "We have your number. The moment your number was created, we attained it. That is how information works. As soon as it is written down, it can be found, traced, hacked, or stolen. Same for our numbers. But we have better ways of finding your number than you do our number. So with all that said," Miltia picked up her wine glass, sniffed it, took a sip, and leaned back with a smile, "finish your drink and either enjoy the music or leave. You're choice."

Grinding her teeth, Yang sucked down her drink and promptly left.

(-)

"Are the modules in place?" Felicity asked.

Naruto ignored the order that Felicity was giving the men and favored standing back to watch as machinery as big as a normal sized computer desk was totted around by the soldiers into varying spaces along a cut down forest and mine that was opened up in the side of a small mountain. To Naruto, it was nothing but an oversized hill, but technicalities were always going to be thrown around with people regardless of what something actually was by definition, something he was more than accustom too this early in his life.

To make sure everything went off smoothly, Aoi deployed five of his men to hold the perimeter and to their credit, they weren't that bad at their job. Fresh from training and thrown into the middle of a clearly unsanctioned operation, the five proved their use as not only finding kill zones for any approaching Grimm, but spots where they could both watch their acting commander and their zone as ordered with a clear lack of near perfect sightlines, cover, and height over these terrible creatures.

To pull their part, Naruto was left to guard Felicity as he was paid to, while Tayuya and Kiba worked with the troops to provide security around the perimeter while Raven snuck off to do her own thing, most likely involving scouting out the terrain for Grimm.

The science behind this entire thing was easily understood by the simplistic examples given to him by Felicity. This was entire system was nothing more than a giant ultra sound device that would normally be smaller and used on others to find problems with the body or check on things that were pregnant. But the concept here was that it was going through layers and layer of thick earth to see something that was clearly moving up. The implications and physics behind this were completely different than that of a human or animals' body, as they would be going through sand, then dirt, clay, and then whatever stuff made up the mantle.

Stupid version was what he wanted to work with. It made him think he understood what every big word she used was when in reality he truly didn't.

"Um… Fox Guy!" Naruto's head turned slowly to Felicity. She looked apologetic as she held up a large cable. "Can you help me move this thing closer to the generator?" Naruto blinked and looked from the device to the generator. "I'm sorry… I never got your name. I know you're a Faunus because of your tail. Which is cute. I like foxes. Used to have one. Named him Fluffy. I'm sorry. I'm rambling again."

"Don't worry about it. My name is Naruto." He grabbed the device and hoisted it up with both arms and walked it over to the generator. He sat it down gently and took the cable from her to plug it in. The device hummed to life and she started furiously typing on it. It was an oversized keyboard with a tiny monitor that showed a single line blinking across the screen with an occasional spike of activity. "So what does this thing do?"

"It works by reading seismic activity and giving us a scale on its destructive power via a richter scale that is built into this terminal." The sides of the device opened up and stabbed thin rods into the ground. "Those will help in measuring the magnitude of it."

Smiling, the blond pretended to know what she was talking about and look at the other soldiers as they continued their work.

"You know this whole thing sounds really fishy to me." Felicity raised a finger to silence him before he continued while she furiously typed with one hand. Once she was finished, she clarified her earlier statement. "It's just odd that they hire four mercenaries to guard me when I could have the Atlas troops here as well to do the same thing. Even stranger is that they got the Mistral military involved? Atlas doesn't have a good standing with Mistral, but not bead enough for it to dissolve into war."

"Politics," Naruto said with a forced laugh. She laughed with him. "All they really do is get people killed. I think someone once said you can't trust a general to lead his soldiers. So why do we leave politics in the hands of politicians?"

"That is a very fair point. But then the roles, even if reversed, would became the same thing or the war would just shift to political stuff and actual wars involving soldiers would be nothing more than a large scale game with real lives on the line. The only difference there is that not a shot would be fired. Shots would be fired a political meeting."

The Faunus chuckled and nodded. "True… But it would eventually spiral down into the same thing. The war and politics would simply change to the new playground they were given and everything would once again be at the same scary squire."

"You make that sound like you know your way around some level of politics. I have two degrees and even I don't dare to understand that tangled mess of red tape and backstabbing."

"I've had my dealings with them a few times." Naruto answered cryptically. His eyes danced around the equipment as it began to come online with tiny hums and small vibrations that scattered pencils and dropped tools on the ground. "So all of this just for one stupid little earthquake? Seems a bit much."

"We've never had an earthquake that was rising to the surface like this. Sorry if this is a little much, but in the way of science and understanding, there are days like this. Where, in reality, none of this would make any sense. I mean, we're using an oversized ultra sound scanned to try and punch roughly five hundred meters into the ground to understand what's going on down there. This is a scene right out of a science fiction novel or something."

Naruto wisely shut up after that and listened to the hum of the equipment as it began to reach its targeted mark for operational status.

Instead he returned to his scroll – A clear sign of his disinterest in the job at hand – and answered another text from Miltia. She was requesting to speak to him as soon as he returned. Said it was about something important and that it could no longer wait.

 _So it's finally happening,_ he thought tiredly. He replied and shoved the device back in his pocket as a tremble rolled through the ground. His tail twitched in response and his mind froze for all of a second as the feeling passed and then exploded to life in the fullest form possible.

The ground exploded with life and shook with such force that it knocked everyone to the ground. The equipment screamed as it toppled over. Rounds were fired as the guns went off from the sudden impact with the ground or from the perimeter teem hitting the ground with their fingers on the trigger. Naruto braced himself on his hands and knees and gasped for air the earth parted and gulped down a chunk of air that threatened to pull them into it for all of two seconds before calming down. The earth quieted and the sound of falling debris could be heard from within the cracks that the quake had created in its violence shaking.

Everyone with military training jumped to their feet and checked the area for wounded and safety. Once an account on everyone was made and noted to be fine, they checked the equipment. Felicity took over once she was sure the earth wasn't going to roar to life again and began furiously putting everything back.

Aoi approached with concern flashing in his eyes. "…How close was that to the surface…?"

She held up a hand to silence him as she typed away on the keyboard. She gulped and looked at the equipment before turning to him. "That was a hundred and fifty-nine meters below us. _Directly_ below us." She made sure to stress that part. Aoi nodded and huffed as he started checking the equipment for minor damages that would have gone to their casing and not the delicate inner workings of the devices. "They said it was bad, but that was completely insane."

"Is everything ready to do this test?" Naruto asked hopefully. The soldiers out on perimeter duty returned holding one of their own as he limped across the ruined landscape. "That's not good." Kiba and Tayuya appeared a moment later from the shadows carrying two more on their backs while a third was brought out with Raven. He held his arm and visibly looked ready to kill over.

A medical team member rushed to their aid and began checking them over as they set them down in the shade.

"This is strange," Kiba said in a whisper. Naruto stepped closer to him, as did Raven. "I can smell… something… around here. It's got Akamaru on edge as well." Kiba looked down at his large white dog and chewed on his lip as it continued to sniff around the area. "This lady better hurry up. Something's off about this island and it's making me horribly nervous."

"She's about to the start the testing." Naruto confessed tiredly. He ran a hand over his face and then glanced back at the tree line. A flash of movement was enough to catch his eye when it darted through the darkness. "I think something followed you or was lured here," he warned them quietly while putting his hand on his pistol. Kiba reached out to touch Akamaru but a quick cough from Raven was enough to make him stop. "We can't risk an open fight without the information. Our job is to get that taken care of and nothing else."

"Right," Kiba groaned out. Akamaru whimpered and stuck his tongue out as the hot air continued to take its toll on him. "It's almost over, buddy. I promise. After this, we can go swimming or I can give you a nice cold bath to cool off." Akamaru yapped and wagged his tail happily to that.

Naruto snickered until he caught sight of the movement again. "We're not-"

"I got it working!" Felicity screamed. Raven and Naruto moved beside her while Kiba and Tayuya stayed on point to look around for a problem. Akamaru began to growl and snarl at something in the distance. "I just got the scan back." She brought it up on the monitor and smiled at it before frowning. "What the hell is this?"

Aoi leaned forward to look at it. The entire thing was a massive black space of nothing outlined by a white ink. "What _is_ that?" he repeated slowly.

Raven stared at the image for a full minute before her eyes widened. _Oh my god!_

"CONTACT!" Someone shouted. "WE HAVE GRIMM!"

"What?!" Felicity screamed as she looked passed the monitor and towards the trees. A large group of Beowolves stalked out of the shadows and snarled their directions as a small group of Ursa and the Jelly-fish Grimm wobbled behind them. "I need to get the information backed up!" She went to typing as more and more of them showed up.

"We'll hold them off!" Aoi shouted. He grabbed a rod broadsword off his back and took a calming breath. Electricity surged around the blade and changed the metal from silver to cherry red as it began to heat up. "We can't let them get to her while she's getting the data backed up. We have to protect her at all costs."

"Kiba, we're on!" Raven shouted.

"Finally! Let's go, Akamaru!" He touched Akamaru's head and the dog responded with a howl before his body was sucked into Kiba's palm. There was a moment of pause in gunfire as those that witnessed the odd sight stopped to try and understand what they had just seen before returning to their original task.

Kiba doubled over screaming and roaring like an animal as his body began to drastically change. His skin turned lighter until it was replaced with white fur. His nails lengthened, his face contorted and stretched to form a muzzle. Long ears shot up out of his hair and he began to flex and roar louder as he got taller, bulker and cracked the earth with a single punch as he dropped to his knees clawing the ground beneath him as he snarled and huffed through his transformation.

"Nothing… ventured… Nothing…" he rasped out in a dark and feral voice. A tail sprouted and his head jerked up with a yellow and a blue eye staring ahead into the face of several Grimm that came charging his way. "…GAINED!"

Kiba shot forward and grabbed his weapons of choice: a pair of black, singled-handed axes. His speed was beyond what anyone expected and in the blink of an eye he dropped three Beowolves before their bodies hit the ground and they turned to ash in the wind of war.

Naruto snarled as he opened fire on the approaching enemies. The Beowolves were faster than what he had expected. The ground shook beneath his feet and his aim was thrown off as a result. Grinding his teeth, he holstered his pistol in his left hand and reached up to his back and pulled out the weapon he kept concealed by his cloak. He slashed the air and an Ursa disappeared into the shadows as the staff screamed to life with a whirlwind kicking around it. A curved blade snapped to life and gave it its true form: A black and orange scythe with a chain attached to his arm that disappeared into the cloak. His scalar turned red as he swung the weapon down to the ground. The earth in front of his weapon exploded and shot chunks of earth into the approaching enemies while a blast of wind knocked them back and dropped trees behind them with a sonic boom.

Two soldiers moved beside Felicity and combined fire to push back an Ursa that was getting too close to her. Aoi weaved through their bullets and cut it down before moving with Raven to do the same to the Grimm forced to standstill in the face of their firepower.

A tendril shot out and clipped a terminal; erupting it into a shower of sparks. A soldier screamed a curse, his left leg cleanly cut off halfway up his calve, but remained firing at his attacker. It snarled as the second tendril danced like an ocean wave in front of its chest to shield itself as best it could from the barrage of bullets.

Tayuya dropped out of the sky and landed directly in front of the Grimm and slashed it twice with her dagger across its chest and legs. It wobbled and a shower of blood spewed from the wound. It fell backwards dead before it hit the ground as she flipped away, stopped, crouched under a high swing from an Ursa, removed its head, and then ran towards the next one as the decapitated Grimm turned her way and sluggishly tried to follow before it met its end at the hands of Raven and Aoi.

"Cut off the Ursa's legs to after removing the head!" Aoi screamed. "It keeps them from fighting back until they die!"

"Fuck off! Don't tell me how to fight!" Tayuya shouted back as she danced over a low swipe from another Ursa and removed its arm and then followed with its head. For a fraction of a second her eyes danced to Aoi as he removed an Ursa's entire left side before glancing her way to see her work. He snorted and returned to work. Likewise, the redhead howled and turned on another Grimm that encroached on her personal space and removed a limb and head in the process. 

Kiba's war cry echoed across the land as his fused state ran at full sprint across the battlefield cutting a path of destruction in his wake. He slashed with his axes until they got lodged in the back of an Ursa. He abandoned them to their fate until the Grimm would later die, but until then, he ran as fast as he could and jumped just high enough with his hands out forward to catch a Beowolfs' top snot and remove it, along with that section of the head and landed behind it as a guesser of blood spewed out from the wound and onto him as the creature fell backwards on him.

As a show of strength or an unstable mind due to two minds in one body, he grabbed it and lifted it above his head and tore it in half, letting blood and guts pour down on his body as it all slowly began to turn into black wisps of smoke that curled off his form. The Beowolves changed tactics and charged him in a mad dash to end the only one truly fast enough to outrun them. Kiba turned his head and snarled in their direction before chasing down one of them and snapping its neck with his bare hands. He speared it in the chest to ensure the kill and threw it at its onrushing siblings to conceal a hard kick that snapped one head completely around before grabbing hold of an arm and yanking it off with his foot pressed against its face with a mighty yell.

Another Beowolf came to its sibling's aid from the sky to try and grab him. Kiba looked up with his head turned quizzically and rolled backwards out of the way as it crashed into the ground and surged forward to challenge him. Kiba howled like a dog and beat it down with a hard punch to its chest and punching a hole through it and into the previously wounded one behind it. Both of their head jerked up and contorted in pain before the first one died and the second one attempted to grab hold of the transformed Inuzuka but to no avail before its heart was crushed in his hand.

A detonation of stone dropped a dozen Ursa with and humanoid Grimm with holes of varying size in various parts of their body. Some dropped dead immediately while others remained upright as though they were too dumb to understand what had hit them.

Naruto grabbed a fist size stone with his right hand while he staved off the rushing Grimm with his scythe in his left hand. A blast of wind sent them scuttling back. Snarling something, Naruto tossed the stone forward and clasped his hand tightly into a fist. A fraction of a second later the stone exploded into tiny stones that shot outwards like shrapnel from a grenade and blew threw a few Grimm, leaving other dazed and confused as to the very nature of what they were hearing and seeing.

Two tendrils shot out of the trees for the blond. Naruto jumped high above them as they speared the ground where he had been. He landed a good fifty feet away from the tendrils, but while in the air he had seen that they had come out of the forest and was higher up than the other ones he was seeing thus far. An alpha of the Jellyfish-like Grimm stumbled out with more tendrils, spikes and white armor around its chest.

Taking a step back, he rolled his scythe and held it up like a champion spearman before letting it fly. It took off faster than it should have gone and tore clean through its armor and punched right through the entire beast with a deafening blast from a sonic boom. The chain followed after the weapon and Naruto grabbed it to stop its escape from him. The entire thing jerked and looked ready to break when he pulled it back to himself. The scythe exploded from the entry wound and made an even larger exit wound on it. It fell forward dead and crushed many of the other Grimm in the process.

"I GOT IT!" Felicity screamed.

"We're falling back!" Aoi screamed in response. "Move around Felicity and guard her as we-"

The earth roared and shook violently for only a fraction of a second before it suddenly fell inwards and swallowed dozens of Grimm and some of the troops. Those far enough way watched as the Grimm suddenly backed off and roared at them like children screaming at a bully from behind a protective fence.

A low rumble sounded from within the hole and for a moment only the sound of wind blowing in from the ocean could be heard. It was shattered when a shrilling cry ripped out of the hole and a black object came out of the darkness to grab the edge of the earth. The sound of muscles tearing echoed out of the hole and another hand emerged to grab the edge of the earth. Each hand was three clawed fingers, nearly one and half the size of an Ursa, and shaped like an animal paw. A head emerged that sported a sleek bug-like face with a mandible jaw that split into three parts, glowing red compound eyes. It yanked itself out of the hole and roared in defiance to the sun and its light that now revealed a create of Grimm to be roughly a hundred and fifteen meters tall and from tail to head was four hundred meters in length with a large deposit of dust shards on its back around a protective shell of bone.

The fighting came to a sudden stop with its arrival as it towered over everything and looked out to the ocean with narrowed eyes before its gaze turned on the military base that had sounded its alarms, effectively drawing it to them.

The four mercenaries grabbed up Felicity and bolted with her into the forest. Naruto held his hand over her mouth as he put his back against a tree he was standing in. The others did the same and watched the soldiers were forced to open fire on the smaller Grimm that had started making their way to them while the bigger one moved towards the base.

"Are you okay?" Raven asked in a whisper towards the terrified scientist. She nodded with tears in her eyes. "It's okay. Don't worry. We're going to get out of this. I promise. Did you get the data?"

Naruto removed his hand from her mouth. She held up her scroll. "Yes. I got the data right here."

"Good." Naruto put his hand over her mouth with one hand and with the other transformed his pistol to a dagger and stabbed it into her throat and ripped it to the right. She tried to scream but her yell died in her throat and she died her silent death. He dropped her body and looked at Raven with a scowl. "Scarlett's cleaning house. She's not going to let us live after this. You think she knew that was here?"

"Who knows or cares," Tayuya hissed angrily. "What about us? Can you portal us out of here?"

"The mainland is too far away for me to do it and even then, after this, all air traffic will be grounded if this gets out. Which, these things aren't supposed to be known to exists to the public at large. If they knew these things were out there, there would be mass panic. We've never won a fight against one of these."

"So they'll scorch the land to keep this from getting out?" Kiba said with a snarl. Covered in blood and standing at a grand height of two point five meters made him seem super imposing and demanding with a voice that was feral sounding.

"It's what James would do." Raven confessed. She pulled out her scroll and took the scroll from Naruto as she furiously typed on it. A moment later their scrolls buzzed and she said, "If we survive this, we have the data as well. We can get this out there to the right people; let them do with it what they will."

"So how do we get off the island?" Naruto asked fearfully.

"The same way we got on it. We're flying out of here." She pointed to the base. "We're going to steal a plane and escape. Hopefully we can get out of here before they blow the island in an attempt to kill that thing. Let's move!" She dropped out of the tree and started running. The other three followed her lead without question.

(-)

Ozpin shivered for a moment and paused when his scroll rang. A feeling of dread overcame him and a little voice in the back of his head told him to not answer the device and that failing to answer it would give him a chance to have some peace for only the briefest of moments.

Yet despite this he clicked the answer button and watched a dozen screen spring to life with various figures talking loudly in the background. The icons for Shade, Atlas, and Haven sprang up behind three single figures, one of which he knew was James, and the other two being current Headmasters at their respective schools, while behind them three figures with the same icon sat and argued over a matter of ethics, morality, principle, and secrecy. James looked frightened if his pale expression was anything to go off of.

"Glynda," Ozpin said sharply, getting her attention at his hasty voice. "Please leave. This is a private call." She nodded and vacated the area as quickly as she could. "What's going on?"

" _Ozpin, an Ancient Grimm has shown up in Distant Haven and is currently attacking the military base-"_

" _Shut your goddamn mouth, James!"_ A woman, most likely a council member for Atlas, screamed. _"This isn't our problem!"_

" _With all due respect, ma'am, this_ is _our problem."_ A male, another council member, this one from Mistral, countered. _"The Ancient Grimm aren't to be trifled with and we all came together with the plan to never let these creatures see the light of day. We couldn't kill them then, and we haven't been successful yet. Our only option was to-"_

" _We know this!"_ A male voice, the Headmaster of Shade, shouted. _"This whole incident is to be handled by all of us. Not just Mistral. We need an answer and a vote on what to do. There are two thousand plus lives on Distant Haven. What you're asking is unthinkable. You want us to bomb it! Murdering our people. My people that i have sworn to protect!"_

" _Sir, I need my orders now!"_ A fourth screen popped up with the word **SOUND ONLY** in bold letters.

" _We're working on a solution right now, Commander Mifune. Please, just hold out. We're considering Operation Sunstroke."_ The councilman from Vale said.

Ozpin slammed his hands down on the desk as the Mifune's box disappeared with his reply of, _"Understood, sir!"_ "Now hold on a minute! What exactly is the situation over there?" Ozpin demanded.

(-)

Mifune hung up and punched the metal desk. "Goddamn politics!" he shouted as his men screamed orders and requested information from the frontline. He collapsed into his chair rubbing the bridge of his nose. _It's always going to go through the red tape. That's all this is now._

"Commander, the media is beginning to get their footing now. We can't keep the blackout going. We need another solution to this!"

Mifune took a deep breath, shut his eyes, and smiled as his mother and father came to the forefront of his mind. He hated his father. Truly, he did. His father was always so distant to him. He never really spoke kindly to him or about his job. His mother had always supported him when he decided to join the military in favor for the Huntsman life. He made a career out of his military life and, for a small time, gained an understanding of his dads' motives for being as rough as he was to him.

Truly, his father was a wise man.

"We're enacting Operation Sunstroke." The words were spoken with a sense of relief he hadn't realized he had at the time. His staff stopped what they were doing to face him with looks of stupor. His face, which had once been warm with the words he spoke, now turned to a look of horror at his very own actions and what this ultimately meant. "Get the keys up here now. We have a duty, not to ourselves or just our Kingdom, but to the world itself. If we let the public know about these things, they're gonna panic. We can't allow them to know about their existence." He walked towards a window and watched as the larger than life Grimm _stepped_ over his tanks, his soldiers, and screamed at any and all rounds fired its way. Its carpus was too strong to be penetrated by their weaponry.

"Once the missiles have launched, you may call your family that's here on the island. Put their minds at ease. Let them know that this is the end. Tell them you'll be with them shortly. Do whatever you want. But we need to make sure that no one can get a call off the island." Mifune put his hands behind his back and recalled standing on the beach with his mother and father. For a moment, he was happy in remembering that one time his father, not acting like a soldier that he was, was the father he wanted him to be. _You were right, father. The world does hurt._

Two men carrying a briefcase each walked up with sour looks. Mifune looked at them with a tight jaw and a stone gaze. They wavered and then relented as they presented the case and grabbed their keys. The cases were open to reveal a small computer system with a battery of dust crystals. The two men looked to the other and then put the keys in the slot.

"Three… two…" The turned the keys and an small, circular, red button appeared beside Mifune's chair. He took a deep breath, shut his eyes and remembered his late wife and their last argument before her demise. "May the children forgive us," he spoke softly as he pressed the little red button. It gave a soft click and the deed was done. "Call your families. Tell the soldiers fighting that if they want to run to their families, they have four minutes."

The staff turned around, some left, others stayed, hung their heads, called their significant others, or remained dutiful to their work to the very end.

(-)

"… _your families if you… Call your families if you want…"_ The message kept repeating. Naruto tossed the radio away as he continued running with the other three.

"They launched two missiles. Impact is in four minutes!"

"We're a minute out from the hanger!" Raven answered as she rounded the corner of the base onto the tarmac and towards a hanger. "Kiba, how long will it take you to get one in the air?"

"Thirty seconds at most with a rush job!" He answered. He hadn't defused from Akamaru yet. It wouldn't be safe if he did. He'd be out of it if he did and they'd have to carry his deadweight the entire way. He was the only pilot they had. "It might take ten seconds to get airborne."

A rumble sounded and VTOLs hovered in the air taking shots at the beast. It roared in defiance, taking swipes at them but was unable to reach them. Angered, it stomped the ground and bellowed like a bird calling for a mate. Naruto chanced a glance over his shoulder and blinked as he saw its back light up. It pushed itself to try and stand on its hind legs and then collapsed under the weight. A pulse erupted from the dust shards on its back. The VTOLs stopped firing and fell out of the sky. Some of the pilots attempted to escape but couldn't. Lights flickered and died instantly.

"It has an EMP?!" Naruto shouted in disbelief.

"It has a what?!" Tayuya screeched. She started running faster. "We're getting out of here now!"

Raven stopped at a closed hanger and slashed the entire front door. It fell to the ground in two pieces. A small plane lay attached to various devices meant to keep it anchored in case of a tropical storm. "I'll cut it loose! Kiba, start it up!" Kiba was already inside with Tayuya. Naruto helped remove the straps and the pushed away the ramp last with his wind once the two were in. "You got it started yet?"

"This is a new model. I haven't flown it yet."

"Can you fly it?"

"Of course I can. They're all designed with the same style." He flipped a few switches, hit a button, and threw the throttle forward. It roared to life with a cry of pain as its main engine came online. "Sorry for the rough takeoff, but I'd strap in right now!" The top of the hanger was ripped off by the tail of the Grimm as it continued its march across the land. Kiba brought the plane around. Tayuya checked a monitor to watch the Ancient Grimm continue its march.

"It's turning around!" She warned.

"We're taking off!" Kiba shouted back at her as the plane began to ascend.

"One minute thirty seconds to impact!" Raven warned.

"We're not gonna clear the blast radius or the EMP effect these bombs have. I'll have to gain some altitude and shut it down to shield us from the blast."

Raven gulped. That sounded like a good way to die, out in the middle of the ocean where bigger, meaner, and arguably scarier Grimm lived. The ocean was far scarier than the monsters they faced on land.

"Hey." Naruto tapped Raven's shoulder and pointed out into the ocean. The Ancient Grimm was now running the other way across the island, heading directly for the city. "Why is that island getting closer?"

Tayuya and Raven glanced out the window and spotted a landmass _moving_ through the ocean towards Distant Haven's military base. Raven removed her mask and brought a pair of binoculars to her eyes. Her face drained of all color. "That's not an island. That's the Grimm Leviathan from the Mariana Trench near Atlas."

Kiba's head slowly turned to face the three and, unlike the now angry Naruto, asked the same question in the same manner as Tayuya. "What the fuck is that _**thing**_ doing here?!"

"Who cares?! Get altitude! Now!" Raven ordered as she strapped herself in.

(-)

" _We need a solution to this, now? We can't let this reach the public. There would be mass panic in the streets. People would fear what is happening and bring on more Grimm attacks. They could wake the one in Vale that we know of. The Leviathan has been docile and has never attacked anyone. It just summons other Grimm from its body."_

" _You can't honestly expect us to allow Mistral to be targeted like this? There are two thousand plus lives on that island! We can't abandon them! Councilman Rei, please, you have to understand what you're asking. You're asking the Mistral Government to bomb their own people."_

" _I understand, but this is a matter of a national security. If we allow this to get out and save what lives we can in on that island, what would that say about us in the long run when we allow the people to panic at the knowledge of these Ancient Grimm that we can't defeat? Ozpin, you back me up on this, right?"_

"As much as I would love to say you are right, Councilman, you are wrong here. Our duty is to the people first and the world second."

" _And that right there is enough of an answer in of itself,"_ she fired back heatedly. _"The Vacuo Government and its Headmaster have made it very clear that Mistral is the bomb Distant Haven to ensure the secrecy and wellbeing of the world from these terrible monsters."_

" _Well you're FUCKING IN LUCK!"_ The outburst from the male Council from Mistral caught everyone only slightly off guard. A timer appeared. _"Commander Mifune fired two Sunstroker Missiles at the island. One will impact on the city while the other will strike the base in and attempt to cripple or kill the Ancient Grimm. There… A man meant to take orders from us acted without our consent and killed two thousand people with the push of a button when you all could have just sent help or aided us in blocking their scroll signals. This is far less humane."_ The line went dead.

The rest of the lines went dead and eventually only left James and Ozpin.

James held his head in hand and gasped at the ramifications of what was to happen now. "Mistral just got put in the line of fire. They won't be recovering from this." Ozpin told him sadly. "Mistral will try to find a scapegoat to avoid bad public imagery and they'll turn and point the finger at us. They're going to drag us down with them."

" _Ozpin,"_ James spoke quietly. _"There is nothing we can do. Even before the missiles were launched, what could we have done to aid them? We're five hours away from them. We wouldn't get there in time to do anything."_

Lacing his fingers together, Ozpin lowered his face and put his forehead against the back of his hand. "I know," he said sadly. "Prepare for angry letters and threats, James. I know I will." He killed the line, got up slowly, picked up his cane and then threw it across the office in a rare display of anger. Seething with rage, he sat back down and held the side of his face as he thought about all the lives that were now going to never be again and would never know what their future held. _What will your response to this be this time, World? What side will you take in the face of this tragedy we call hopelessness?_

(-)

"The two missiles will detonate three seconds apart from one another!" Raven huffed as she kept watching the gauge as they continued their ascent. "The first detonation will be in eighteen seconds while the second will be twenty-one seconds. Both impacts will strike us at three seconds apart. The first will hit us five seconds after detonation while the second one will hit us eight seconds after detonation."

"Altitude is eighty thousand feet and climbing," Kiba replied with a snarl.

Raven watched the monitor and the timer that was setup with it that she linked to the bombs. "Detonation of the first is in five. Four. Three. Two. Detonation. Second detonation in three. Two. Detonation. Impact in…"

"Shutting down engines and all power." Kiba talked over. Not a second later the first impact struck and threw their plane for a joyride as they were nothing more than participants in a rollercoaster ride from hell. It was hard to tell when the second hit, but the results were the same regardless. As the plane continued its rocky climb at the risk of being ripped apart by the wind shear from is eventually decent, Kiba leaned forward and started fiddling with the controls to turn the thing back online. "Restarting power. Power is online. Working on the engines."

"That blue shit called the ocean is getting really close, Kiba!" Tayuya screamed as her fear of flying once again struck her. This was why she feared airplanes. There was nothing more terrifying than falling out of the sky and not being able to stop yourself. The only thing that might be worse was the endless falling a nightmare.

"I know! I know! It's just – Work you piece of goddamn shit!" Kiba kept mashing the buttons to get the engine to turn on to no avail.

"Kiba!"

"Get off my back for one second! Work you hunk of fucking junk!"

"KIBA!"

"WORK GOD FUCKING DAMN IT!"

"Kiba, pull up!" Naruto shouted as he reached out with both hands. His scalar burned red and he gasped for air. A screeching noise that could only be described as metal scraping on metal exploded in their ears. "Kiba! Fucking! Pull! UP!"

"God damn it! Fine!" He grabbed the controls and pulled back on them. The plane did nothing. The window cracked. He kept pulled until he was sure the main shaft had bent under his strength. The plane jerked spastically as he fought with the controls to get them out of a flat spin. The entire plane jerked upwards sharply and leveled out. Naruto's labored breathing was the only sound they could hear as Kiba flipped switches and restarted the engine. The engine hummed to life and Kiba finally gave the all clear. "We're green across the board." Naruto collapsed full into his chair panting and looked on the verge of passing out. "We're good. All systems are back online."

"Good… Take us around the island. I wanna see the damage." The two women fiddled with the cameras through the monitors. A land that had once been green with tall buildings and rich which sand was now a burning landmass of fire and smoke. The ocean bleed black as Grimm that could swim moved to the water for shelter, leaving others behind that couldn't to die in the fiery fate. The smoke was shoved to the side as the Ancient Grimm slowly walked out of the smoke with large burns and chunks of its hard carpus cracked, leaving spots of red flesh visible. "It's still alive…"

Tayuya recorded it. "The first missile was aimed at the city. The blast radius should have incinerated everyone within a ten kilometer radius. Only glass and blacked buildings stubborn enough to stay upright should survive. The second missile hit the base itself in an attempt to kill the Grimm." She shook her head and sat down in her chair. "This wasn't about trying to kill it. It was about keeping it a secret." She turned on another monitor and saw the Leviathan Grimm dragging its body across the middle part of the island. "Nearly two miles long, half a mile wide and this just decides to go over the island rather than around. Why is it even here?"

"Who knows," Kiba confessed with a shaky voice not his own. His voice cracked. Raven got to her feet and put her arms around him. His eyes were both yellow.

"Akamaru, it's okay." His hands shook in fear. "Give control back to Kiba. We need him to pilot for us right now."

His mouth opened and his entire body quivered. "…I'm scared…"

"I know you are. Now give control back to Kiba. We need him to fly for us." Akamaru whimpered and finally relented control to his master. Kiba inhaled deeply and looked up at Raven. "Better now?"

"Yeah, he's fine." Kiba said, holding the side of his head. "He was scared. I don't blame him. That was… That was wrong. All of it." Taking a deep breath to regain his surroundings, he looked back at Raven and said, "Tayuya is right. What is the Leviathan doing here? Since its discovery a hundred years ago it has never moved or been aggressive in sense of the word. It just left slept at the bottom of the Mariana Trench spawning Grimm. So why, after all this time, would it finally decide to move?"

"I can think of a few causes, but it would be unbelieving considered everything that was thrown at it twenty years ago," Raven confessed tiredly. She sat back down in her chair and helped in plotting their course. "What does matter is that this now brings the total of Ancient Grimm to five."

"We're going to have to track down the Leviathan." Naruto pointed out weakly.

"I'm sure we can get someone to track it for us," Raven replied. "For now, let's focus on getting home to Vale. Kiba, stay under the radar as best you can. A fight with Mistral's air force is not something we can manage." Nodding, he returned to his task at hand. "As soon as we have the course planned out, you can separate from Akamaru and sleep. I'll take over the controls."

"Thanks…"

Three hours later they were wheels down on the outskirts of the city. They moved a safe distance away from the stolen plane as Naruto used his Semblance to create a compacted bubble of air when they sealed it up. After getting far enough away, Naruto released all the captures air and blew apart the plane as all the trapped air exploded outwards. The plane held together for a fraction of a second. To ensure that it was destroyed completely, they overcharged the dust shards inside it with a few unrefined ones and shot at them. The resulting blast ensured that it would be burned and nothing would truly remain of it.

Naruto, exhausted from overusing his Semblance twice in one day, collapsed against Raven. The masked woman could hear Kiba snickering as she propped him up with one arm while she fiddled with her sword to make a portal to his place. Once everything was set up, she ripped open a portal and they stepped in. Naruto caught sight of movement in the shadows and saw the glint of a long silver blade before passing through the portal and into his home.

"Nice place," Kiba finally confessed after raiding the fridge. Naruto didn't have the strength to argue with him. His strength was returning to him, but not as fast as he would have liked.

"Just throw me on the bed," he confessed tiredly. Raven laughed as threw him at his bed. His head bounced off the wood frame and he muttered a comical, "Ouch," in reply to it. "And I just ruined my sheets with blood." He struggle to roll out of bed and tore them off before it soaked down to the mattress. "Take showers now. Raven and Tayuya, if you could, go take one together to make this fast."

Tayuya wasn't in a mood to complain. Raven's face was contorted into a look of amusement as she saw Kiba's face fall at the prospect of what was coming next.

"Kiba, go outside and sleep with Akamaru or go swim in the pool they have here."

"Oh! They get to use the shower and I don't? What the hell, Home Wrecker!"

"You're a mutt, Red Rocket. I'm a treat you how I treat most dogs my previous girlfriends have had: I throw in the pool or tub to clean them. I'd throw you, but I don't have the strength to lift your fat ass up and do that." Naruto threw his sheets in the corner of the room where a bin lay. Akamaru whimpered and the blond snarled out, "I will kill you tonight if you take a shower in my bathroom. Mark my words on that, Red Rocket."

A scream sounded from the bathroom. The three in the room spun around as Tayuya, naked, came out holding a terrified girl in a red dress.

"Tayuya! Stop! She's a friend!" The redhead looked from him and then down to the captured girl. "Miltia, what are you doing here?"

"I was looking after your plants!" She wailed.

"I found her in the bathroom crying."

Tired, stressed, and still reliving all of the events from the day, Naruto stormed over and removed Miltia from Tayuya. "Go take your shower now. Miltia, are you okay? She didn't hurt you, did she?" Her response was to beat on his chest. Raven grabbed Kiba up by his arm and dragged him into the bathroom. Naruto barely registered her demands for all three to take a shower at once and get it over with as she shut the door. "Hey. It's okay. I'm here. What's wrong?"

"I thought you died!"

The fox Faunus grimaced. _I wonder how the media is covering this._ He held her close and, despite being soaked in blood, she buried her face in his chest. "It's alright. I'm fine. Tired, but fine. We escaped with our lives. No one on my team died. We all made it back fine." He rocked her back and forth. "It's alright. It's alright."

It was fifteen minutes later that she regained her normal stock composure and was able to speak to him normally. In that time, the three had finished their quick showers and changed into stolen clothes that Raven had retrieved with her teleporting ability.

"You're covered in blood," he told her softly. "Let's get you cleaned up. You can sleep in some of my clothes or we'll take you home. It'll be hard to explain why you're soaked in so much blood if we try to get home now." She nodded and let him lead her to the bathroom. Raven disappeared with the other two to give them some privacy.

They stripped and took a shower together. It was nothing sexual. She didn't want to let him go and he wasn't going to deny her that. They hadn't spoken since the night they had been drunk and had sex. She had avoided him like the plague. Naruto didn't blame her at all. She was terrified by what her drunk-self had done with him to a point that she had most likely spent the entire time fighting with herself on the meaning of it all.

"I'm sorry… Not just for worrying you." Naruto felt saw her form freeze up as she continued to scrub away the blood from her skin. "I should have had more control over the situation and not given in to your demands that night. I am truly sorry for it."

"I made the same mistake, too." Her words came minutes later once she had finished washing the blood out of her short hair. She tucked a large clump of her hair behind her ear and turned his way. Naruto held her gaze. "I avoided you because I didn't know what it meant. Now I do. It was nothing but a mistake. An _itch_ if you will, that I needed scratched that night. You scratched me well… I guess."

A smile tugged at the corners of his lips. "Happy to help. Just… Know that I'm sorry for it. If you ever need me for anything, let me know and I'll be there for you. Despite how I may act around you three, I do care about you guys. You are something important to me. All three of you." He turned the water off and got out. He fished two towels out and handed one to her to dry off.

Naruto flung the door open and walked to a dresser to grab some clothes. He threw on a pair of boxers and tossed her a pair as well. She looked at them funny and slipped them on. They were a little big, but they were better than nothing at all. Naruto fished out a t-shirt and tossed it to her. This was thankfully a few sizes too big for her and she was able to use it as a nightshirt. Naruto pulled on some pajamas and offered her a pair that had a broken moon design on them. She turned them down and looked at his bed.

"I'll sleep on the floor once I get the sheets on it." He told her.

"You were warm that night. As long as you don't do anything funny, you can sleep in the bed with me." Smiling, Naruto grabbed the spare sheets and made the bed. He climbed in after she did and laid on his side. "Thank you for staying alive." Miltia turned over and stared at him. Naruto was already passed out. A smile touched her lips and she watched him sleep for a few minutes before it took her as well.


	6. Tensions Rising Part 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A/N

This story is entirely fan-made and fictional. Any acts that you might find offensive, disguising, inhuman, wrong or just don't like, we are not liable for. You are reading this story of your own free will and not being forced, if you don't like something we are not forcing you to stay and read it. Please leave the page and re-frame from reading the chapter and or story. All Copyrighted Characters belong to their respect owners. We don't claim anything that is not our own creation and are merely using them for fan made material.

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Chapter 6

"Can I borrow your toothbrush?"

"Yeah…"

Naruto ran a hand over his face as he continued to stare at the numbers on the dryer as it counted down to completion. _I'm replacing this thing as soon as I can._ The dryer was almost as old as the complex he lived in and before he left for his job in Mistral he had gotten permission to exchange both the washer and the dryer. Today was the day he'd get a new one and finally not have to restart another load of clean clothes for drying. This was right up there with instant ramen not really being instant with him. Three minutes in a microwave did not count as instant in his book. That was three minutes too long.

As soon as both sleeping teen had awoken they quickly went to work on the room to pick up any dirty clothes and get them washed. The washer was old and could only handle a few handfuls before it wouldn't work, so Naruto had done Miltia's clothes first with what detergent he had. As proof of his bachelor life he had tried putting her white panties in with her red and black dress, along with her matching bra only to have the owner of said clothes berate him for negligence. So now they were going to get washed with his sheets that he was bleaching with two cups worth today.

Naruto, decked out in a simple shirt and matching pants, roamed through his house freely and without restraint, unlike Miltia who was forced to wear his shirt and a pair of his shorts with a belt to keep them up. With Kiba around, Naruto wasn't really going to let her walk around naked. He wouldn't even request such a thing if it was just the two of them. She was a friend. Not a sex partner or his girlfriend.

With most of her stuff also back at her place, she was forced to clean herself with Naruto's less than ideal toiletries. He had only one toothbrush, one stick of deodorant, and his toothpaste was most likely not the same brand she used. Naruto was a bachelor and not the kind you watched on television or the kind comedians made fun of. He still cooked for himself occasionally and did have nice things, but that was all sort of meaningless when most people in his shoes would have multiples of every household item. Naruto even only had one of every cooking utensil from a butter knife to a cookie tray.

Unhappy with watching the timer slowly tick down he left his laundry room and walked out into the main room where the bathroom door was wide open to see Miltia hovering over his sink brushing her teeth. She had rolled his shorts up to the point they were short shorts and tied the shirt at the side to keep it from sliding it around. If she hadn't, she'd be staring at her breasts in the mirror and so would he. And he could see from this angle that she had abandoned his boxers in favor for wearing nothing under his shorts.

 _You have to sniff those once she hands them back to you._ Naruto blinked and scratched at his head. "Shut up brain, or I'll stab you with a Q-tip."

"You say something?"

"Not to you. I was talking to the voices in my head. Pay me no mind." Naruto shook his head and started the process of cleaning his scythe.

Qrow truly was a gifted person when it came to gathering information and fighting in general. The man had this way that he fought with his scythe that it gave anyone watching him the impression of watching a Reaper in action. True, the whole thing with a Grimm Reaper was that they were covered a dark and dirty cloak with their flesh stripped away and hovered inches above them ground, leaving a trail of smoke or fog in their wake while they cut you or anyone else down with a scythe, but Qrow seemed to be something more at times.

That one and only time he saw him fight in person made Naruto believe in something more than simply killing the Grimm. It made him want to understand them. If he could understand them, he could kill them better. And the weapon of death that Qrow used was enough to strike fear into the hearts of those that watched him use it. Anyone could use a sword or a spear, but what few morons would use a scythe? Even more confusing is what few morons that used said weapon would attach a gun to it? Well clearly Naruto now knew two people to do it.

He finished cleaning the blade of the dried blood and set it on the table where a towel was laid out to soak up any of the water and oil he used once he had finished his maintenance on the weapon. His pistols would be next on the list to look over but a more important problem was about to make itself apparent.

A pounding on the door forced Naruto to his feet. "It's open, Melanie." The door was thrown open and there in the doorframe was Melanie, eyes narrowed and her face drained of all color. "Miltia is brushing her teeth right now. Shut the door before-"

"Who the hell is this sexy lady?"

Naruto hung his head. "Come on in Kiba. I totally wasn't trying to keep you out or anything." Before he even spoke Kiba had shoved Melanie into the apartment and walked in with Akamaru jogging to the other side of the bed for a nap. Kiba had stayed the night and as an added bonus, drank the last of his milk and ate the remaining contents of his food in the kitchen. Needless to say, Naruto was less than pleased with his fellow Faunus for the day. "We got in last night," he told her before she could start her ranting. "Miltia was here watering my plants and I was soaked in blood from the fighting we had to go through to escape."

Shutting her mouth, the long haired sister slowly closed her eyes. "They're saying it was a tsunami that hit Distant Haven. That's not accurate, is it?" He shook his head sadly. "So the governments are doing a cover up for what really happen… Not surprising, but a little worrying some. Junior will want to know about what happened."

"If I choose to tell him, that's my call. He can't force this out of me." Naruto looked at Kiba. The moocher was back to raiding his fridge. "I don't have anything left, Red Rocket. Get out of my apartment before I throw you out." Kiba snorted and stuck a toothpick in his mouth as he kept looking for something edible to eat. Naruto gave up and sat down on his bed. "I heard from Miltia that Yang was showing up asking for me. I'll deal with her today."

Melanie grew angry at the mention of Yang. "She was hanging out at the club a few hours ago. Junior was trying to get in to get some work done and she was there blocking the entrance to the place. Junior isn't happy with her and is about to take matter into his own hands."

Holding his face in his hands, Naruto found a sudden desire to scream but resisted it well enough. _Raven needs to deal with her. If I go out there and do it, she'll gut me in the end._ He inhaled deeply and then looked at the ceiling and through to the sky. "Why do you hate me?" The question was met with smiles by the three present. Naruto slapped his hands to his side and shook his head while saying, "I'll deal with her soon. But in the meantime, do stay away from her as best you can. I don't know if they'll come to her defense, but the people that I know do possibly care for her and would be very displeased to know that their daughter was hurt by the likes of us."

"That's very vague and not something Junior will like to hear from you, Uzumaki." Melanie warned. Her eyes danced to her sister as she walked past the blond and to the laundry room. "Why didn't you just come home last night? You could have avoided this entire mess and I wouldn't be here."

"I was paid to take care of Naruto's plants. I was here watering them after work when they showed up. I got covered in blood. Would have been rather odd to see someone walking home with blood on their face and hands, don't you think?" Melanie relented but unhappily. A knock at the door drew their collective gaze to it and then Naruto's sigh of frustration.

"It's open!" The door opened and in walked the blond bombshell herself: Yang. Naruto could already hear the fires of Hell being prepped for him. He figured it out two and half years ago that he was going to Hell for his actions. Right or wrong, that was a place he knew he was going. Did he care in the end? Not really. But this wasn't his time and he wasn't going to let some girl with mommy issues be the cause of his death. That just wasn't happening. "What do you – Why did you bring those three with you?" His scalar burned red and Yang felt a heat form within herself at the prospect of a rematch.

"We all came to Vale today spend it together before we go our separate ways for the vacation," she told him flippantly.

In walked the familiar girl in red that Naruto already had the pleasure of meeting, followed closely by a rather unhappy girl in a white dress with a matching coat and rapier at her side. Kiba scowled at her arrival but became even more miffed when a girl in black showed up with a bowtie on her head pined back and her eyes jumping around the room in fear. To make Naruto a liar or because he hadn't picked up on the _fourth_ person, a man with a white button up shirt left undone walked around the corner and stood beside the girl in black. She either ignored him or didn't care when he got closer to her.

Boyfriend, perhaps?

"Naruto," the girl in red asked, taking in his appearance and then his room. "This is where you live?"

"Yes, Ruby, this is where I live." Yang looked back at her sister and then to him. "We met almost two months ago at a weapon shop where I had to talk to her on behalf of a friend, Fredric-"

"You said his name was Rodger." Ruby corrected, though her eyes were ever so slightly narrowed as it to show her confusion on the matter.

"-Right… That asshole… Anyways, I showed up to speak to her about going to the weapon shop so much because the guy is a complete pussy. He's scared of little girls and weapons."

"Why work there then?" The girl in black asked.

"Blake, I have no idea why, nor do I care, as, truthfully, I'm not friends with him. I was just some guy he paid to speak to you and that was about it, Ruby. He's not my friend. And I made up the fact he's scared of weapons. However, I think he really is scared of little girls, because he couldn't talk to you himself." Naruto turned to Kiba and blinked. _He's not chasing after her like he did me those first few weeks? That's impressive._ "Kiba, you okay, man?"

"My Oum…" Kiba breathed out. "You could grind meat on those."

Naruto, and the girls, followed his gaze to the blond haired monkey Faunus. "What?" he asked fearfully.

The female blond snickered. "He's checking out your abs, Sun," she clarified for him.

"It's cool. Wanna feel them?" Kiba snapped from whatever stupor he was in and growled at him. "Okay… I'll take that as a no."

"Cool… Why are you guys here?" Naruto asked quickly and aggressively.

Yang popped her hips a bit and smiled seductively. "Well, you did tell me that I needed to try "battering" for information a little better." Naruto hung his head. Kiba snickered. "You were drunk so I assumed you meant bartering. But hey. It just proves you're human."

"He is _not_ human." Kiba pointed out jokingly.

"Oh my god! Red Rocket, shut up before I shut you up. Yang, why are you fucking here?"

"Language!"

"Weiss, shut the hell up the before I shut you up too." Naruto pointed a finger at her as if it would get his serious side across to them. Beating up Yang would get him scores of trouble with Raven, and by default, her father. Beating up Weiss for no reason would have _all_ of the SDC coming down on him. Her father would have him skinned if Naruto didn't put a bullet in his head before he got nabbed. It was also worth mentioning the same applied to Ruby as well. Her father would find him, shot him, stab him, and then wear his super-sexy tail as a scarf.

Grabbing her weapon, the heiress took her combat stance and was honor bound to let him get his weapon first. Naruto, agitated with all of it, turned and walked to his fridge. Unhappy to find nothing there, Naruto slammed it shut, walked back to his original spot, making certain to kick Kiba along the way, and sat down on his bed.

"We've already dealt with one cursing person today," Weiss added after seeing his attention back on her again. "That filthy redhead was very un-lady like."

"Redhead?" Naruto asked, clearly knowing something. "Did she happen to be wearing a tan colored tank top and a matching beanie, along with a pair of vandalized blue jeans?" Odd descriptive and certainly alarming to the five, Weiss chanced a nod and Naruto once again put his hand in his face. "She's right behind you."

Slowly, carefully, Weiss turned to face her tongue lashing as the redhead from earlier gave her a stare that she felt would have burned away her entire head should that kind of power been real. "So…" Weiss began with an awkward smile.

"You must think you're the greatest thing on the this world, don't you, you spoiled rich little bitch." Tayuya purposely shoved her way through the crowd, sending the Schnee girl stumbling backwards as the redhead walked in two brown bags. She put on Naruto's bed and said, "Since the moocher ate all your food, I went and got the _three_ of us something to eat from a the diner down the street."

Miltia's stomach grumbled and she happily began rummaging through the bags. Naruto reached in and grabbed a box of something and didn't bother to open it up and check its contents. "I'm claiming this one," he declared while moving towards his wallet. He pulled out forty lien and handed it to her. "Does this cover mine?"

"…Yeah…" Tayuya took the money and pocketed it while grabbing a cup of coffee from within the bag. She handed the other two to their respective people. Naruto sucked his down and his eyes became a little less heated and calmed to the soothing burning taste of hot water and ash in his mouth. "It's not good," she warned them both a little late.

"Well of course coffee isn't good!" Ruby declared, her arms shaking wildly. "It's coffee. It's disgusting stuff."

"It's grownup stuff, little red." Kiba mocked as he reached for Naruto's cup. The blond walked over to a drawer and grabbed a kitchen knife. Kiba blinked and then reached for his foot only to have a hand slap his away. He looked around for the owner and saw a stern and unhappy Melanie seething his way. "Don't get between me and my food, bitch"

"Kiba," Naruto's voice was edgy, dangerous, and if could kill, it would have done it with his tone. "Get out before I throw you out." He snorted, calling his bluff. "Ruby, how fast can you put together a Glock?"

"Pretty fast?" The little huntress in training didn't like where this was going.

"On the desk over there are my two pistols. I was cleaning them before this all happened. If you could, be a dear and please finish putting them together."

"You're not going… uh… shoot him are you?"

"No. Why would you think that?"

Ruby shrugged, missing his sarcasm and quickly went to work on the first pistol. It was a two minutes process and Ruby hastily put it together with the refined grace of any military person that knew what they were doing. She slapped a magazine in, cocked it, and smiled at it. She presented it to the blond as she went to work on the other one.

"Thank you, Ruby. You are a doll." Naruto undid the safety and pointed the gun at Kiba. "Now get the hell out of my place before I blow your brains all over that wall over there, Red Rocket."

"You said you weren't going to shoot him!" Ruby wailed, halfway done with the other pistol.

"I lied. Kiba, seriously, get out of-"

 _I'm a bitch I'm a lover I'm a child I'm a mother I'm a sinner I'm a saint~_

Lowering the gun, the blond sat it down beside Ruby and pulled out his scroll as the song continued to play. "Sorry, I gotta take this." He confessed in mock sadness. He walked out of the room and was last heard saying, "Sup bitch?" as the door shut.

"Alright then…" Tayuya took a sip from her coffee with one hand and pulled out her weapon with the other to keep Kiba away from Naruto's food. "Catch me up on everything that's happened that doesn't involve Naruto pointing a gun at you." Her demands were very simple.

"The blond girl, Yang, showed up wanting to speak to Naruto and brought her friends along." Melanie told her heatedly. The displeasure of having Yang her was one thing, but this unknown redhead was far worse now. "And who are you?"

"Tayuya, one of his friends and former owner of this mutt." She jabbed a thumb in Kiba's general direction. The dog Faunus shrugged. Let her make fun of him. He'd mock her all day long anyways. "Now who the fuck are you?"

"Melanie, sister to Miltia, and body guards to Hei Xiong."

"That's cool. Now what are you five little pukes doing here?"

Yang flipped some of her hair back. "I came to talk to Naruto. We meet up a month or so ago and I wanted to do some catching up."

"You showed up, grabbed our bosses' nuts, and demanded information," the long haired twin corrected. Those present looked at Yang with wide eyes while said blond just smirked and crossed her arms under her best, elevating them enough to be seductive. "You just want to know how he knew your name. Guess what? The information is private."

"Wait!" Tayuya screamed, silencing everyone. Ruby gave a soft cry of "Done," as she went back to her friends. "Let me get this straight. You're here just to figure out how he knows your name? Nothing else, right?" Yang opened her mouth and Tayuya put her finger on her lips. "I just woke up. I just got some coffee. Silence is golden, dumbass. So you're just here to get his name, right?" She put the tip of the knife against Yang's cheek who nodded while looking amused. "I can find that information on the internet. I just have to remember what you look like and I can pull up images of you to match a face to a name. Now why are the rest of you here?"

"We followed her." Sun declared.

"Okay… Well now you have your information. So get the fuck out."

Naruto threw the door open while sighing visibly. He threw his scroll at the bed, grabbed his coffee and his food, walked to the table and sat down. The complete shift in his attitude alarmed everyone. He absentmindedly munched on the food in silence to completion, got up, threw it away and walked back in front of the group. "Yang, I know you because I've worked with people that knew about you. Do I know where you mom is? No. Do I care that you have mommy issues? No. There you go. Get out. All of you." They remained standing a confused stupor. "Get out now or I'm going to throw you out. And this time I really do mean it. Get out."

Sun grabbed Blake and led her away. Ruby was dragged out by an unhappy Weiss, leaving an infuriated Yang. "You know my mom, don't you?" Her words were dark.

Naruto took a calming breath and his eyes began to turn red. "Yang, for once in your life, listen to someone that knows better than you. I don't know where you mother is. I don't care to know where she is. She's responsible for a lot of terrible things in this world. If I were you, I'd stay away from her. But she's your mom, so do what you want." He shoved her out and shut the door. Yang didn't fight it. Gulping, Naruto picked the scroll up off the bed and said, "Deal with your daughter before I deal with her, _Scarlett_." Naruto killed the line and sat down on the bed holding his head.

Kiba and Tayuya looked away.

"Scarlett wants to know what's going on right now with us." Naruto told them.

"Why do we care again? Remind me." Kiba leaned against the table with his eyes narrowed in frustration.

"She has something planned for us. Most likely another operation."

"You just got back from one of those suicide missions, why does she want you to go out _again_?" Miltia looked horrified and her voice, though timid, made it clear she was going to take a stand of some sort.

Naruto ruffled her hair, a genuine smile on his face. "Don't worry, that's not what's going on." He cupped her face and she leaned in to it. Tayuya's eyes widened and she stored the action away for later use. "This is about her _son_." Kiba spat in disgust while Tayuya rolled her eyes with a heavy sigh. "She's considering bringing him here since his food source is running dry right now."

"Does he live off the land or something?" Melanie asked.

The three mercenaries winced and it was Kiba who answered. "No. He eats only meat. Sure, that probably doesn't sound strange, but he only eats _living_ flesh. Have you heard of the groups that worship that Grimm and see them as Gods?"

The twins nodded bitterly to that. There wasn't a person alive that didn't know about them or had heard tales of them. They were savage and bloodthirsty people that gave their bodies to the Grimm. They were seen cultists and were usually entire families that were either inbreed to the point of stupidity or people that took the last name of the much larger family. Stories of their cruelty were the stuff of nightmares. They would lead large scores of Grimm to small villages and then watch the ensuing flames in total bliss. Rumors spread that they were always trying to breed the perfect warrior with the Grimm. The very notion of such a thing was both sickening and frightening when one considered the implications of such a task.

To date there were only two known groups that still actively worshiped the Grimm: The Faith of the Sightless and the Gathering of Kings. The Faith of the Sightless worshiped Grimm that didn't have sight, as their name would suggest. But oddly enough, only the more fanatical would remove their eyes to feel a state of ones with the Grimm they worshiped. These people, though sightless, would supposedly gain power beyond human understanding and become one with them by way of attaining power so great and terrifying that they were actively hunted down by Huntsman for their fanatical tactics and unsavory use of powers.

The Gathering of Kings was a different group altogether. While they still worshiped the Grimm as Gods, they sat more on the side of understanding rather than the side of activity. While they were known to be quiet zealous when angered, they normally seen only as messengers rather than destroyers. But their worship, like the Sightless, was on a level beyond what even the most religious person would call sane. At birth, a child is tested against the will of the Grimm by leaving him outside for an entire day. If the child survives, he is allowed to live with his family. If he died, his family would be shamed and a mark of disbelief would be branded upon them until they birthed a child with a strong enough will to survive the night and lift the "disbelief" from their family. If the child was eaten by the Grimm, they were seen as true people of their faith and believe that their next child would be a truly strong child.

What made them worse was that at the age of ten, if male, the child would be forced into the wilderness and left to his own devices for a full year without human interaction. He would walk among the Grimm, and if he survived, would become one with their church. If the child was female, then she would then go into a dark cave where Grimm were rumored to nest and stay in the absolute darkness for two weeks. She would take no food, no water, and no clothing. If she survived this trial, she would be welcomed into the church and be fit to worship the Grimm with the hopes of birthing a child just as strong. Children that returned before their time was up were outcast and given a brand to show their disbelief in their Gods. These children would wonder back into the forest in hopes of attaining their belief again, but none ever returned.

Truly, the most terrifying thing about this group wasn't what they made children and newborns do, it was that they would actively seek out Grimm nests and make homes beside them in worship. The Sightless did odd things, but this wasn't one of them.

A former cult known only as the Cult of the Worm were the only ones to truly push the boundaries of moral choices when they would actively let Grimm _into_ their homes. This act wasn't out of a desire to provide for them, but rather, in the belief that if they let them in, they would grant them power and immortality, as they saw the Grimm as immortal beings. Even stranger was that the truly devoted of females wouldattempt to _mate_ with the Grimm or drink their blood. This act was arguably what brought about their destruction fifteen years ago, but a truly odd thing was recorded in their demise.

A large mansion had been built out in the forest regions of Vacuo, their home, and when two Huntresses were ordered to investigate the place, they came back with photos of clothing lying on the floor, serving as outlines to dead bodies where. There was no sign of a Grimm attack or foul play. Unlike any of the other cults to exist, they kept a detailed record of everything they did with the Grimm. To make things stranger, it was suggested that one survivor was found but no one knew if this was true or not.

Like with any major cult, they took the name of their biggest family. The Sightless took the name Blakemore; the Kings took Starwhisper, while the Cult of the Worm took the name Aburame.

"Well," Kiba cleared his throat to continue. "She has a child that came from one these _cults_."

"Which one?" Melanie asked fearfully.

"We don't know." Tayuya admitted. Her hands on her hips, she looked at the trash can that was now full and said, "We need to take out the trash. I'm going to go get some more food. That shitty place didn't have nearly enough for me to get full on."

"Fatass," Kiba laughed out. Her glare turned on him and he stood ramrod straight when she brought her dagger out and to her lips. "Shutting up!" She pulled it away with a snarl and a curse.

"Well this is fun and all, but I need to get out clothes switched out." Naruto disappeared into the laundry room with his scroll. He dialed a number, shut his eyes as it ringed and only opened them when he heard Raven's voice. "I need to know right now if you're seriously considering bringing _him_ here, Raven."

" _You don't get paid to ask questions, Naruto. You get paid to do as you are_ told _. Never forget that you don't work for us. You work for us only when we pay you. Right now you are paid in full. If I choose to bring my_ son _there, know that I will contact you first and pay you if you take him. Or would you rather be back out on your own again?"_

The line went dead and Naruto gripped his scroll tightly. _Damn it…_

(-)

"What's the news saying now?" Ruby asked Sun.

The stowaway Faunus flipped through the channels on his scroll while biting his lip. The news coming out of Mistral was not pleasant with rumors ranging from weapon testing to full blown attack by another Kingdom. The media ate the entire thing up with families that were lost in the event and noteworthy scientist to talk about what had happened and what the damage was that they could see.

"They're still talking about how this is a government conspiracy or the beginning to a full out war between Kingdoms." Blake took it from him. "They're not talking _them_ , Blake." Sun told her. Her eyes didn't reflect her trust in his words of comfort. The White Fang were dangerous, but this, if it was them, was too the extreme. Even after just getting out of custody for their involvement in the incident at the docks some two nights ago, she had grown more wary of those around her. Sun took his scroll back and turned up the volume as two people talked about the event in full.

" _So you believe that this was some sort of an attack?"_ The anchorman asked the female scientist.

" _Yes. What few photos we glimpsed of the island before the military taped it off were those of destruction on a grand scale beyond that of a tsunami."_ She tapped something and the view shifted to a photo of smoke and a blackened city. _"As you can see here, this photo shows signs of a bomb going off. If you look very carefully towards the upper left-"_ The view magnified to her directions. _"-you can see where the blast originated from. Further evidence of this is also taken to the military base that we got a brief shot of. It sported similar damages as well."_

" _So you believe that this was an attack of some nature?"_

" _I believe it was. But_ Distant Haven _was home to a research place owned by the Ycaruse Industries and they have always focused heavily on weapons and medical technology. So if this was a misshape by them, they have yet to come clean with it."_

" _This would put more pressure on them now after the incident with the owners' oldest son, Cobalt, who became a known affiliated member with the White Fang. He was responsible for arming the White Fang and planning several operations with them. Were it not for the courageous actions of his youngest son, Rain, we might have more dangerous weapons in the hands of the White Fang. Well at the very least we know that Mr. Schnee is going to do everything he can to aid those that lost something important things from the disaster."_

Weiss snatched the scroll up and clicked it off. She stared heatedly at the thing before handing it back to Sun. "He's not doing this because he's being nice. He's doing it because he wants people to forget the questionable things he's done."

"Of course he is. Look at the state he's put in the world in." Blake huffed and looked at the blue sky in wonder to how many more days it'd stay like that. The world was on the brink of war with the White Fang and now there was this terrible disaster in Mistral that the media was eating up. Anyone that lent a helping hand to this would obviously be praised even if they had a questionable past. It really made her wonder just how dark the world could be if they allowed people like Mr. Schnee to do as he pleased with a few good words of praise or a few million lien to cover up any terrible deed he'd done.

Ruby jumped between them with her arms flailing wildly. "Please don't fight! We just got back together."

"We're not fighting, Ruby." Weiss confessed tiredly. "We're agreeing on this. What my father is doing is just to make the world try and forget his questionable ethics. I'm sure that most of the world will turn away from his questionable ethics for a while until he does it again."

"Hopefully it's something bigger than what he's previously done," Sun put out there. Weiss regarded him with a glare but decided that in the end fighting him would be meaningless. "Still, it is nice to see him do this. I mean, when you stop and think about it, this is proof that the world could come together in the face of an impossible crisis."

"We're only coming together _because_ the world wants an answer. Not because they want to truly help the other people," Yang pointed out sadly. Sun offered a questioningly look and she looked away, her eyes telling the story of a sad lonely girl. "Do you think people do anything for nothing? This isn't really that. No matter how you want to look at it, that is how the world works. Everyone is like these. Even the people that say they want to make the world a better place at no cost."

"That's pretty dark."

"Well that's how things work." She put her hands in her pockets and kicked a rock along the ground. "Sun, you didn't have any family out there, did you?"

Sun shook his head and the girls released a held breath they weren't aware they'd been holding. "I didn't have any family out there. Most of my family lives out in Vacuo. But a few my friends had family out there. I hope none of them got their flights to go home for Spring Break since they were booking them a few weeks in advanced. I suppose I should give them a call to make sure they're okay." Sun brought out his scroll and looked at his list of friends. His fingers trembled over the numbers before he put it away. "I'll check later."

"Sun," Blake paused to consider her words. She hardly knew him and yet she had poured her entire life to him. Now here he was at probably his weakest and he was scared to face the unknown. He stowed away on a ship to come to Vale early and have fun before things went south for them at the pier. "If you need some support on this…"

"I'll call them later. I'm sure they're with their families right now. I know I'd be." His voice was quiet. His tail visible drooped more than it normally did for as long as Blake had spent time with him.

Glancing at her friends, Blake exhaled weakly and said, "Sun, let's go somewhere private and make your calls. I'll be there with you, okay?" She grabbed his hand and pulled him away from the group. Ruby moved to follow but was stopped by her sister.

"Let them be alone right now. He needs to make these calls and most likely spent enough time with Blake for her to understand he's not some creep. He seems pretty cool." Ruby watched them go and finally relented to the idea of them being alone to make their calls. Yang let go over her once she was sure that she wasn't going to chase after them. "We should call dad…. See if he's okay. I'm sure he's worried about us as well." This could happen to anyone."

Weiss pulled her scroll out when it buzzed. A soft smile formed on her face as she read the name. "I have to take this. I'll catch up with you two as soon as I'm done." She accepted the call as the two sisters left her alone. "Winter, how are you?"

" _I'm fine. How are you doing?"_

"I'm good."

" _I'm sure you're aware that this isn't a social call, correct?"_

"I figured as much…" Clearing her throat away from the scroll, she steeled herself for the coming storm. "How can I help?"

" _Father has tasked me with trying to find some information on four people that were recently paid a vast sum of money for some work under the clause of an escort and guard duty. These four people went under the name of Wolf, Kit, Enchantress, and Mask. They were meant to guard Felicity and they failed. She was sent to the island – I'm sure you're aware of which one. – and were still paid even after their failure. Needless to say, father isn't pleasant. Even stranger is the location and the name of the person that paid for said services. A Scarlett Schnee, operating out of dorm room 104 at Beacon Academy, paid them in full for their job."_

Weiss nearly dropped the scroll from her shock. _That's…_ "…That's my dorm number…"

" _I'm aware of that. Father hasn't figured that out yet, so you're in the clear for the time being. Judging by your tone I now know that you're not responsible for this. The whole thing is odd and Father wants me to find out how this happened."_

"And how did this all come back on my dorm room?"

" _Scarlett Schnee, no relations, works out of your dorm room. I'm looking in to this entire thing right now. If something else odd pops up, I'll let you know. But please keep your head down. If this is some sort of an attack against us, we aren't aware of it yet. Father isn't pleased either. For my sake, keep your head down. And if something comes up, please let me know. It'll make things easier all around for me."_

"I will."

" _I need to get back to work. I'll talk to you later."_ The call was ended and Weiss was left with a feeling of guilt in the pit of her stomach. How could someone do something like that to her family?

(-)

"So this is where you work out of?" Kiba spun around while taking in the sights and sounds of the club. Music was played; people were partying, drinking, and having fun in a storm of blinding lights and deafening music. Tayuya wasn't impressed by the place.

"I don't work out of this place. I work here… sometimes." Naruto walked up to the counter and sat down. Junior was already back to serving drinks to a few people that wanted them. As soon as he saw them he finished up his orders and sat stood in front of them. "Junior, is there any work for me today?" Naruto made it sound pleading.

The information broker stroked his beard and shook his head. "Not right now. With the state the worlds' in, no one is really wanting anything done. A lot of people had banks on the island and now they're trying to make sure they're financially stable before doing anything else." He sized up the two people with Naruto and then said, "So I'm in the presence of the Wolf of Vacuo and the Enchantress," much to Tayuya's displeasure.

"People don't call me that anymore," she told him heatedly.

"That's true," Junior admitted with a wiry grin. "You're also known as the Songstress of Death, Death's Lullaby, and a more interesting one, the Grimm's Musician."

Tayuya's features became that of stone as her jaw set and her eyes hardened. "If that's the case, then I prefer being called the Enchantress over those." Her gazed drifted to Miltia as the young woman walked around speaking to other people. "Can I get some whisky?" Junior looked at his blond haired Faunus friend before doing so. A small shot glass and a bottle was presented. Tayuya swiped the bottle and grabbed up Miltia. "I'd like to talk to you, if that's okay?"

Naruto turned away from the two girls, missing Miltia's pleading glance towards the blond haired Faunus as he leaned on the counter with his elbows. "So what happened while I was gone? Aside from Yang." Naruto made sure to scratch off the obvious choice for Junior.

The older man shrugged with an audible grunt. "Not much. There were a few more dust robberies and a pretty hefty incident at the docks a few days ago. Reports are still a little sketchy on the details but I know that it involved the White Fang." 

Kiba snarled something as he put his back to the counter and looked at the strobe lights. "Filthy animals… Do you do any Jagermeister?"

"I do a few. I can make you a Black Blood."

Naruto got up and looked around the room for a moment before leaving. "Kiba, don't come home. I'll have you arrested."

Kiba raised his drink and downed it with a laugh towards the mercenary Faunus. "See you later tonight, Home Wrecker."

Naruto stormed out with an angry sigh of frustration. He walked around town for a while. He bought some groceries, some new clothes, and some new rounds for his pistols. He considered getting a new pistol at the weapon shop but didn't. As soon as he was home and had his groceries put away, he collapsed onto his bed with a weary sigh and dozed off. He was roused from sleep by the sound of a gentle knock on his door.

He rolled out of bed and tore the door open. Ozpin stood before him with his hands resting gently on his cane. "Can we talk for a bit?"

Looking past him and out into the hallway, the blond rolled his eyes and let him in wordlessly as he moved to the fridge to grab some sodas. They weren't usually his thing, but he knew that Miltia and Melanie liked to use them for their mix drinks from time to time.

"I was curious about your trip to Distant Haven and see if you could shed some light on a few… rumors." 

Handing him the soda, Naruto sat down at his table. Ozpin did the same. "What kind of rumors?"

Ozpin took a sip from the drink, his eyes darkening. "What were you doing in Distant Haven? Let's start there since the main rumor there. So what were you doing in Distant Haven?"

Tapping his fingers on the table, the blond licked his lips in thought. "I was there to provide security for a scientist from the SDC. They wanted to know about the earthquakes and have a guard detail for her. They don't really trust the military from Mistral since they are on the brink of civil war." Naruto paused and shut his eyes. He could see Shikamaru's face in his final moments in his minds' eye for all of a second before it was gone and his eyes opened. "The job went sideways after a small earthquake hit. She was in the middle of a sonar scan. She found a large Grimm and from there everything should be something you know."

"How big was it?"

Naruto regarded Ozpin for a moment not as a Headmaster or a Man of the People, but rather as a regular human. Curious, thirsting for knowledge and power to the furthest reaches one could grasp for. He was now nothing but a man that had reached for the sun and not pulled back fingers webbed with doubt. He retreated to his computer room and came back with a laptop. Ozpin's curiosity was sated when he flipped it around and showed an image that he had managed to get shortly after Felicity had been killed by him.

"That's big…" Ozpin touched the screen and dragged the image across the monitor, changing it to another still image of the creature as it rampaged through the military base. "How did you get there, big guy?" Naruto held his tongue. Ozpin's question would never receive an answer. "Why did it surface? What could it do?"

Naruto flipped it around and began hunting for something else. He stopped, shut his eyes, and asked, "Where is the Leviathan?" Ozpin's jaw tightened. "One percent of the world knows about the Ancient Grimm. I'm part of that one percent. I know that only previous Council Members and Headmasters are supposed to know about it. But, that one percent is only pertaining to people of power. If you got technical with it, eight percent of the world knows of their existence. The Leviathan has been the subject of intense study. So where is it?"

"I fail to see the connection here."

Naruto typed something in and then flipped it around. A video of a landmass swimming towards Distant Haven played. If Ozpin had any blood left his face after seeing it, Naruto couldn't tell. His hands visibly shook, his face drained of color, and his eyes widened in disbelief. "Is this…"

"It was there, Ozpin. I saw it."

"It has to be different-"

"IT'S NOT!" Naruto rage over the events finally consumed him. Ozpin returned to normal. His face became set in a poke façade. Naruto spun it back around and typed away furiously. When he finished he turned it back to Ozpin. An aerial view was being feed to the laptop. On the bottom left hand side of the screen it bore the name **DEEPTEETH** in bold letters. It was flying over the Marina Trench, two hundred miles off the coast of the Kingdom of Atlas. There was no heat signature of the beast that once slept there. "The Leviathan moved away, Ozpin. So who did this? Who woke this thing up?"

Ozpin shut his eyes.

Twenty years ago when they had thought their weapons were advanced enough to kill it they went out with the plan to destroy it. Their weapons, advanced for the time of their creation, proved useless on the sleeping behemoth. The entire operation was deemed a failure. No lives were lost in the event, but underwater cameras caught the whole thing. As soon as the first salvo of torpedoes hit, an armor of underwater Grimm showed up to shield it. Their numbers were beyond anything anyone could ever had expected. It was as if every Grimm of the Sea had shown up to defend it.

When the eighteenth salvo hit and the wall of Grimm hadn't diminished enough to amount to anything, they called it. The underwater sea monster known only as Leviathan, King of the Sea, was allowed to live. For four months save passage was ensured across the ocean to any place but along the Marian Trench. In order to kill such a massive Grimm, weapons with more power would be needed. But the threshold would put Atlas in a dangerous state if they used anything bigger than what they had at the time. The fish were bombarded with chemical radiation from their attacks and died. Mistral took advantage of their crisis by upping their prices on fish that they exported to them. The weather became chaotic for nearly a year with all the water and electrical storms they generated with the blasts. Atlas, for one full year, was crippled economically.

And with all the Grimm of the Sea at their doorstep attacks on their docks became more apparent and in one month nearly a thousand people lost their lives to these monsters as those that could walk on land surfaced and attacked their boarders with untold ferocity.

After this there were to be no more weapon testing or attacks against the Leviathan. If they couldn't wake to make it move they had no choice but to accept that it would not leave that location. Once the dust settled it became a thing of intense research on Grimm. With it never moving people were able to study it from afar. What they knew about it thus far was that it was two miles long and half mile wide with a mouth stretching two thirds of a mile. Because of how big it was, everyone assumed that it had to eat great amounts of food, but in the twenty years they had monitored it never once did it eat anything. It simply slept on the ocean surface only on rare occasions would it open its mouth, revealing teeth fifty meters tall.

The last, and arguable most important thing, was that it spawned baby sized Grimm of the Sea. It was their King and mother.

Naruto spun it back around and typed some more. Slowly he turned it around and watched as Ozpin's face went from sadness to horror and then finally ending on silent rage. His knuckles turned white as he gripped the cane tightly to suppress the urge to scream. Naruto was thankful for that. His screen played a video from forty-five hours ago where a large bomb went off and forced the Leviathan from its nest. The blast knocked out the underwater cameras for roughly fifteen seconds but when they came back it showed the aftermath of the blast and the Leviathan leaving with an army of underwater Grimm following it.

"Ozpin," Naruto's voice was quiet and full of sadness. "Whoever authorized this just pulled the worlds' second biggest trigger and killed over two thousand people. I have no proof that the Ancient Grimm on that island would have come out if the Leviathan hadn't been heading for it. But if in the off chance I'm right, someone just indirectly killed those people and destroyed that island."

Pursing his lips, Ozpin leaned back in the chair and stapled his fingers together and wished for a simpler time. Back when the world was at war with each other things seemed so much simpler. Crippling another Kingdom was easy and direct. What Atlas did in their attempts to kill the Leviathan back then would be a good example of that time. But now things were darker and far more twisted than what they needed to be.

"I know this is probably a stretch, but I'd like to talk to James. I know you have his number."

Pulled from his stupor and reflections of a bygone past, the headmaster nodded and pulled out his scroll. He flipped slowly through the list of numbers until he got to the one they needed. He dialed the number and waited. It didn't take long for James's voice to come over the line.

"James, i need you to make this line secure." Ozpin motioned to the laptop. Naruto turned it over to him for work. It didn't take him long to achieve what he wanted. He linked his scroll to the device and James's face was soon hovering above a small holopad built into the side of it. James gave the all clear and Ozpin motioned to Naruto to step into frame. His shock was evident. "James, we may have a bigger situation than what we first atticipated out of this event with Distant Haven."

" _How so?"_ Naruto could wait. That was clear in his eyes now. Naruto could see the gears and the fears whirling around in his eyes as he spoke.

Ozpin nodded to Naruto. James gave the blond his full attention. "It was there at the island shortly after the first one surfaced." James lost his stance as a man that could not be swayed by anything and suddenly became someone foreign to both men. He was lost, utterly and truly, in the void of this information. "I have information on this thing being attacked by some kind high yield weapon. I can send you the-"

" _Send it. Now."_ Naruto typed slowly on the keyboard and sent it to him. _"Make sure it doesn't have viruses."_ James ordered to someone off screen.

" _Yes sir."_

 _Iruka?_ Naruto wasn't sure if that was him, but the voice sounded similar.

James watched the three videos in silence. He was silent for ten full minutes as he re-watched each ten second movie again and again. When he finally said something, he was broken inside but furious. _"How did this happen? Who did this?"_

"I hate to say it, but I'm blaming you right now, James." Naruto's voice was cold and detached. James shut his eyes tightly. "This has nothing to do with my problems with Atlas's Council or even you. This thing lived in your backyard and you never noticed it was gone?"

" _I don't exactly keep it under constant watch. It never moves."_

"Well now it has and it just aided in the death of over two thousand people, James." Ozpin cut in. The General winced at the tone his friend used. Naruto wasn't sure what was coming as a bigger surprise to the General. The fact that Naruto was on speaking terms with Ozpin or that Ozpin was taking a stance beside him. "We need information now before the media manages to get a hold of this information. We're lucky that no one has come forward with this or that someone with enough computing power has hacked their way into your systems to get this kind of data… again."

The General and Headmaster of Atlas winced hard at that. Strangely enough, two months ago the SDC was hacked and some information stolen. As to the nature of the information it was over a prototype weapon that was just now reaching completion. Mr. Schnee blamed Mr. Ycaruse, but the man pleaded innocent and to this day was still under fire for the supposed hack.

"We need to know who authorized this and bring that person in." Ozpin told him.

" _You're asking me to bring in someone that you know for a fact will get lynched immediately, Oz. You do know that, right?"_ Ozpin nodded slowly. _"If we find this person and we bring him to the attention of Mistral, they will order his death."_

"Then you have two options," Naruto cut in angrily. "Either find him by your way or I'm going to find him and do things my way." 

" _What are you now? A vigilante?"_

"A friend of mine lost someone very important there. I'd hate to point in him your direction, James. I might not like the Council there but that doesn't mean I hate you. I'd rather keep you out of his line of sight. But he's been asking me for information and I'm not going to lose a friend over this."

" _But you would purposely send someone my way so that they can have some closure via vengeance?"_

"I will do whatever I want when my friends are stake. I will never abandon those I call my friends." James looked off screen as someone said something that the mic didn't pick up. "So we're clear on this; I'm not going to Beacon. I'm not getting turned in to you. I'm just trying to get to the bottom of this problem before it escalates into something that could shatter the world."

" _That's fine and all. But Naruto… I'd like to talk to you when I get to Beacon. I do really need to speak to you about some things."_

Naruto shut his eyes for a moment. "Sure. I'll contact you." Naruto shut it off and turned to Ozpin with a small chip. "You can scan this if you want, but this is all the data I have from the island with the Ancient Grimm. Believe me when I say I'm not giving you this in the hopes of clearing my name of any wrongdoings. I'm giving you this because you need this information just as much as the rest of the Councilman and Headmasters do." He handed it over.

Ozpin flipped it over a few times before getting to his feet. "Well then I believe my business here is done." He walked to the door, ready to show himself out, but stopped when he reached for the knob. "Naruto, no matter what you think of James or myself, know that we do truly wish for you to become a Huntsman. I just wanted you to know that."

He left and the fox Faunus was left to contemplate his actions.

A/N

After the last chapter I decided to cut this chapter into two parts. I realized that this chapter would actually wind up being longer than the previous chapter because I'm trying to show the aftermath of what happened and where the media is taking this, what the government is doing to cover this up, and how it's impacting people while also going a little bit more into the backstory of some Tayuya and Kiba, but mostly Tayuya. The other thing that I'm really trying to have fun with is the idea of people who worship the Grimm in this series. So you can expect to see that stuff come up again in later chapters.


	7. Tensions Rising Part 2

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A/N

This story is entirely fan-made and fictional. Any acts that you might find offensive, disguising, inhuman, wrong or just don't like, we are not liable for. You are reading this story of your own free will and not being forced, if you don't like something we are not forcing you to stay and read it. Please leave the page and re-frame from reading the chapter and or story. All Copyrighted Characters belong to their respect owners. We don't claim anything that is not our own creation and are merely using them for fan made material.

We accept constructive criticize and help but being rude and disrespectful will not be tolerated. This is done for the fun of writing not to make every little person happy, while making people happy with are stories is great we are not here for Money, Fame or Fortune this is done for the simply joy of writing.

Chapter 7

Miltia felt like fidgeting under the cryptic gaze of Tayuya, the Enchantress. There were many stories about the woman in front of her. Some of them were true; others were in the realm of the unknown. It was true that she used a dagger that was designed around a flute. But there were stories that her melody would drive people crazy and turn on those closes to them. It was true that she was very alluring. But there were stories of her allegiance to the Grimm. A woman that was both equally alluring and powerful now sat in front of her sipping on some whisky, wearing clothes more commonly seen a tomboy than a woman rumored to have once courted a son from the House of Winter, a now dead family that had once stood for something, but was now nothing more than a story to haunt children.

And she was completely scared by her.

Tayuya downed another shot of whisky and said, "So how long has the idiot worked here? It's been a while since I've stay in one place for longer than a few weeks. So how long has he been here?"

Taken back by her question, Miltia looked at the whisky and then to her sister that was busying herself with someone that Junior was pointing her to. Seeing that no help was coming her way, she turned back to the woman, grabbed the whisky bottle and put it to her lips. Tonight was going to be one of those nights for her.

"He's been here for several months now. Seems like he's been here since I first started working here two years ago." Miltia motioned to one of the goons that worked for Junior and ordered some wine and a glass as she handed the whisky back to Tayuya. "Why does his length of time here concern you?"

Tayuya poured herself another shot and smiled at as she raised it up to look at it. Her eyes reflected something whimsical for a moment before hardening. "We were together once. It was short and not at all sweet." The redhead's eyes glazed over as a profound memory struck her. The moment passed in the blink of an eye and Tayuya was once again back to her usual self. "So he's been here for a while? I guess he really has changed."

"What do you mean?"

Taking another pull of the whisky, the redhead stared at the dark bottle and said, "When I first met him he was so distant. I was dating Kiba at the time. Biggest mistake of my life dating that prick. But it did let me meet Naruto and he was different. Different in a good way. He made things unique. With him always moving I thought I could make him settle down. I was wrong, but the rewards from it were worth it. Naruto, despite how he may seem, is actually a truly astonishing person to any psychologist."

Miltia's eyes darkened, alerting Tayuya to her displeasure for people of that nature.

A smile tugged at the corners of Tayuya's lips as she said, "You don't like them. That's interesting. I didn't see that in your profile. Of course I didn't look nearly as hard as the people who I had look into you." Miltia poured herself another glass of wine after she downed the first one. "If you think I didn't look into you, you're mistaken. I don't have the information gathering skills that Naruto has or this guy you work for, but I do know people who excel at getting the information I want. But I'm not here to talk to you about that. I'm curious as to how much you know about Naruto."

Tayuya pursed her lips, stapled her fingers, and suddenly looked less like a woman of musical destruction and more of a woman with a predatory gaze that would have one think she was hungrily searching for something. Miltia wasn't sure if the gaze was hostile or not, but she was certain that it was meant for her regardless.

Finishing her glass of wine, the short haired woman poured herself another glass and stared at the red liquid inside her glass. "What do you know about him?" Tayuya leaned back and smiled at her. Miltia cursed inwardly. She wasn't going to get any information on her and she was sure that whatever information she had on Naruto was most likely something that Tayuya didn't know. Would Naruto hate her if she said something to her? "He told me a name."

Tayuya blinked once and then smiled. "So he trusts you with _her_ name? That's impressive given how he told me her name only after we broke up." She downed another shot of whisky and then poured herself another. "After I graduated from the starter school I applied to Shade Academy and was rejected on the grounds that they didn't have someone that could help further my combat abilities. With a Semblance like mine they were hesitant to take me and with my weapon of choice they were even more hesitant. So when I was refused I took a class in psychology. Naruto became my first experiment and to this day still is."

"What do you mean?" Miltia's voice betrayed her displeasure at the very notion of her brash statement.

Taking hold of the bottle of wine, Tayuya sat it beside her whisky and said, "Naruto has always been an odd person. His work is even evident of this. I've seen him do things that don't make any sense. Does he talk about his previous jobs with you before he came here?" She shook her head. "That fucking figures. So I'll tell you about an old job he had. He had a job to kill someone that was amputating Faunus features to make them appear more human. There are Faunus out there that don't like the features they got or maybe they want to appear more human. Either way, he had a job to kill a doctor that was doing it. Job went sideways as soon as he showed up. Grimm were in the village and destroying the place. The good doctor wasn't a fighter, didn't have a weapon to defend himself, and was as good as dead. But Naruto did something truly strange. He saved him."

Miltia's left eye twitched. That was horribly stupid on his part.

Tayuya drank her shot and poured herself another. "Now I know what you're thinking. Why did he save him? Well the answer was one I didn't expect from him and to this day he still does things like this. He didn't know why he saved him. He just did. But he did end up killing him, which – mind you – was the only reason I thought the whole thing strange. The man thanked him for saving his life. I know that Naruto's jobs usually have a high pay range, but if you step back and think about it financially, it doesn't make sense. Why save the person you were ordered to kill. He never told me how many rounds he used, but let's say that he used two hundreds and it costs fifteen lien for a box of fifty. He's out of sixty bucks right there."

"Maybe he just didn't want to give a reason for why he did what he did."

Tayuya shook her head. "No. He didn't give a reason because he has no answer to why he did what he did. Do you remember being a child and asked why you did something and you never knew why you did it? Well that's how Naruto is sometimes. I suppose a better way of explaining this would be to ask if you ever watched the show Digimon." Miltia rolled her eyes and nodded unhappily. Clearly that was a part of her childhood she didn't like or wanted something about it forgotten. "Well there was a scene in which an emotionally distraught Black WarGreymon destroyed a bunch of other Digimon and saved a flower, taking several blows to the back before finally killing the last one. Upon destroying his attackers, he contemplated why he saved the flower and in the end, crushed it. Naruto, at times, has thought in similar fashion."

"So he is someone that's just emotionally broken? That sounds about right at times."

"It's more than just that. At times he's completely stable, but more interesting is that Naruto, for the longest time chose to avoid people. I've read his file. I know that his life has been anything but easy. Sure, he had a great life. His father was his inspiration to become great, his mother was the woman that he turned to when he needed help understanding others, and his fathers' friends trained him and were there for him when his father died."

"So why is Naruto so emotionally backwards? If he had all this, shouldn't he be – I don't know – normal?"

Finishing another shot, the redhead smiled softly and gently put the shot glass down. "No… You see, Naruto isn't exactly what one could call sane, but if you truly think on it, he's actually rather normal." She traced the top of her glass with her index finger while smacking her lips. "I suppose the best way to explain him – and by default all of humanity – is to ask one very simple question. Have you ever heard of the hedgehogs' dilemma?" Unsurprisingly, Miltia shook her head as she reached for her wine. Tayuya pushed it forward and explained. "The dilemma is that they are incapable of getting close to another one of their kind for warmth during the cold months for fear of hurting each other with their spines. To a psychologist this is one of the few backbones they have when studying human interactions and explaining said interactions."

"So how does that pertain to Naruto?"

"Think of it like this. Naruto has struggled with being a Faunus, so he's naturally very tightlipped around those he doesn't trust. Add in the distrust and dishonest Council that dicked him in Atlas, and you can kind of understand part of why he is the way he is. But there's more to him than just that. Because of what they did to him it made him a man that doesn't like waiting around on the bureaucracy of the world. Naruto is a person that will get stuff done and gets it done right. It is part of the reason he's hired for jobs that require him to work with a team. Though he doesn't like being the leader, he will if there is no other option. Naruto is both resourceful and cleaver. With no ammo, a broken gun, and small bombs without codes to arm them, he managed to get a small squad of White Fang members to surrender when they had the upper hand in manpower, firepower, and clear line of sights on him and his small group."

"That sounds completely stupid and unbelievable."

"That's up to you if you want to believe it not, but know that this is a man whose very father was known for making anything impossible possible, just like how he is." Tayuya smiled and leaned back. "But know that through it all Naruto is a Faunus first, soldier second, and will never be a hero."

"Why do you say that?"

"You know that he's running to escape the shadow that is his father, right?" Miltia nodded. "Well he's not just running from the shadow of his father, he's running from the legacy he left behind. Naruto will never amount to anything his father left when he died, but he's trying to make his own mark in the world just like his father. To Naruto, a hero is not who you are, but what you did while you were alive. While you're alive, you're human, can bleed, and therefore not a hero. A hero is someone who stands in the face of danger, making the call that no one really wants to make, and dying at the end of everything. Only then are you a hero to him."

"That's pretty dark."

"That's how he is. But I'm curious on how he changed you. Like I said, I've read your profile so I know that you are very shy, soft spoken, and quick to agree with people. But yet, from the few damn hours I've been around you, you have shown to be defiant, taking a stand of the people around you, and making demands. This was something you never did. And, in return, Naruto has changed as well. I'm sure you noticed how he was at start. But have you noticed how he changed? I'm sure if you read his file you'll understand that he didn't show affection to anyone else after _her_ death. And yet he has changed enough for him to be completely foreign to me now."

"How he changed? I've never noticed anything different about him."

"Because you've adapted to him. Just like how he has adapted to you. When we were together he never showed me true affection. When I was put in the hospital he didn't visit me. To be fair, he was probably thinking I'd blame him, and he's right. I do blame him for putting me in the hospital after he shot me twice to kill the person holding me. It was before we broke up. I called it off after that. But I did tell him to shoot me to kill the person holding me. But that's kind of person he is." Miltia held her glass tightly as she digested the information presented to her. Tayuya reached out and touched her hand, snapping her from her thoughts. "He's more stable now than he ever was. And from what I've read about you, you're more active than you were. It's the power of human interaction and how it shapes us all."

"So you study the idea of human interaction? That seems lame." Tayuya got to her feet and the short haired girl watched her grab the bottles and look towards the drunken Kiba as he talked to Junior about something while sloshing his drink around. "What are you really after?"

"Human interaction drives me to understand people better. I don't count myself as human first and a soldier second. I see myself as a woman first, a human second, and a mother last before I even consider myself as a soldier." She downed the last of the whisky from the bottle and glanced back at the younger woman with a sly smile. "If I were you, I'd try to tie him down before he decides to move again."

Miltia sat back down and shut her eyes to think on her words. Was she implying that deep down somewhere inside her mind and soul she cared about Naruto? That seemed preposterous. She opened her eyes and sighed. _I need to talk to him again._ She left to go find Naruto. It was time to finish their talk.

(-)

James buttoned up his jackets, dusted himself off, and looked in the mirror, smiled, and then shuddered as the very notion of what he was about to do played in his mind for the third time.

James was about to speak to the Atlas Council, his boss, and present them with the information he had only an hour ago confirmed multiple times. Yes. The Leviathan was missing. This was terrible news. One could even consider it beyond terrible. This was the ultimate fubar of fubars that anyone, he himself, could make. And with what happened to Distant Haven still being under investigation this would only further prove their incompetence on the matter at hand. Failing to keep the Leviathan under careful watch wasn't going to be an honest mistake on his part he could play off.

Taking a deep breath, he tapped his scroll and the monitor behind him sprang to life. It took a while for the calls to go through, and in that time he felt his entire exist get weighed in the balance of life and death. This would either shatter his career as a Huntsman or just ruin his life as a human. Either way, this call was not one he was looking forward to.

" _Ironwood?"_ A feminine voice answered with a moderate amount of surprise. The other two remained silent and were shown with **SOUND ONLY** images in their place. _"You're calling rather late. Is something the matter? You're fleet didn't get shot down, did it?"_

"No, ma'am. My fleet is still on approach to Vale. I'm currently over the Red Sea. We'll be reaching Vale in a matter of days." He licked his lips and waited for her stiff reply. When he got no reply from the woman, he began. "A contact of mine brought some information to my attention over the incident in Distant Haven. If you're on a secure line, I'd like to send over the data my contact gathered."

" _Go ahead and send it,"_ the male Councilman grumbled. James sent the data over and waited patiently for them to go over it. There was a long period of silence before one of them muttered a curse and the other two inhaled deeply as they tried to digest the information they were given. _"Is this accurate? Who was your contact?"_

" _I want to know as well. Why didn't they report this to us as well?"_

"My contact will be kept a secret on this, but Ozpin did report this finding to me personally. It was one of his contacts that works for me as well. Believe me, this information is accurate. I've checked, rechecked, and checked again. The Leviathan is missing and a weapon was fired at it or tested on it to see its destructive capabilities."

" _Who did this?"_

"I don't know. But I've been told that we have about forty-eight hours to find the person before the media gets a hold of the information."

" _And how would they do that? Ozpin wouldn't give the information out and this contact must know that he or she can be silenced or removed from the picture."_

" _Like the cleanup operation that Mistral is doing right now. We're lucky they even agreed to go and send their people to do the job or we'd be forced to do it and have that come back on us."_ The woman finally spoke up on the matter, unhappy as always. _"If we did it, we'd be seen as monster and invaders."_

" _This is why we didn't offer our services to them."_

"The contact believes that what happened with the Ancient Grimm that came out of the ground on Distant Haven, code named Badger, might not have happened if the Leviathan hadn't been heading for the island." They voiced their displeasure to his statement but he pressed on. "My contact admitted to not knowing if this was true or not. There is still much we don't know about the Grimm. Each day brings us more questions than answers when we face them. Even now there are Grimm out in Vacuo that have become immune to the various poisons that they use to keep them at bay."

" _Yes, but if what you're saying is true, someone just pulled a very big trigger."_

" _The person would need to be found regardless. Do we have any suspects in mind as to who could do this?"_

"I have a few on the list, but the names are rather dicey as both names are names of powerful businessmen."

" _I'm assuming your referring to Mr. Schnee and Mr. Ycaruse."_

"They're in question, yes. But I think this might be something that they did without knowledge. Someone in their companies might have had a hand in this and we need to find them. Turn them over to the Mistral Government so that they can stand trial for what they did. Mistake or not, this is wrong. They shouldn't have a chance to escape their punishment for their actions."

" _So you say. But let's look at all of this from another perspective. Say we turn this person over to them and they deal with him how they wish. What do we get out of it? We get nothing but blame for letting the Leviathan out of our sight. We have now lost a monster that controls the very ocean. And if what you're saying is true, they can pin the blame on us for what happen to Distant Haven. Let's not consider them an ally for a second. If you think like that, then you can see where we're coming from with this."_

" _I agree. Mistral is a Kingdom that is currently in the process of undergoing a civil war if our information is correct. If this is correct, then we can't let them know about the Leviathan being out and about. If they put the pieces together and come to the same conclusion, then it would come back on us for this."_

" _We'd be blamed and the other Kingdoms would unite against us."_

" _But let's understand something else about the situation. If Mistral does go through a civil war and the other side wins, then what if the balance of power tipped in their favor due to the Leviathan? They could easily blame us, but we, in turn, can use this to our advantage and say we supported them in the end."_

"Now hold on. We can't just hold this information from them. If they find out that we held this information back from them they'll gang up on us and we'll be back at square one: War."

" _That is true. But you need to consider what's going on with them right now. If the stories are true, Mistral may soon be our enemy. And if that happens, we need to be prepared for war."_

"You can't be serious."

" _We are serious, Ironwood."_

" _If Mistral turns out to be our enemies, we will need to take measures against them. Withholding this information is more for our safety than it is for closure to the Mistral Government. We can't allow them to assume that we're their enemies when we lose sight of a sea monster capable spawning a thousand Grimm in an hour. That right there is more than enough of reason for them to assume we mean to make war with them."_

"But if we withhold this information from them, we're no better than the person who woke the creature in the first place. We need to take action against those responsible and let the Mistral Government know that we never meant for this nor would have allowed this to take place. With the Grimm Act in place, we can't even touch these things for fear of destroying an entire Kingdom. This person must be brought down. Hard."

" _And they will. But we can't take the chance with this information getting into Mistrals' hands. They may see it as a sign of war on our end. We can't take the chance."_

"I understand where you're coming from with this. But we can't let them not know about this information. Ozpin was the one to bring the information to me. He will go to Mistral and let them know about this."

" _I hope I speak for all of us when I state that we will not be taking part in this."_

" _If you bring this to their attention, we will claim that we had no knowledge of this conversation."_

" _Keep in mind that we do this only for the wellbeing of Atlas. Not your image."_

The lines were then cut and James was left alone with a feeling of guilt and dread in his stomach. _How did it come to this?_ He put his hands behind his back and strolled towards his desk. His desk never looked so unclean today than it did the entire week. He had a few documents scattered about on his desk, but that was it. He reached behind his desk into one of the drawers and pulled out a flask. He took off the lid and down the contents.

 _I need to prepare for hate letters._

(-)

Naruto ran a hand over his face as he tried to finish putting in the information for the operation from the other day.

Information was power. This was the truth of the world. Power was power. But without information, you're power was wasted. If you weren't strong and had only information, the same could also apply. Naruto enjoyed being as smart as he was. He was powerful, but not overly powerful. He was smart, but not overly smart. In a battle of wits, he also lost to Shikamaru when he was alive, and even now he was sure that he would still lose to someone like Tenten or Neji.

During their time at the starter school he went to, he had been friends with Shikamaru. Their time together was rather long and very strained with the two having different working ethics. Naruto favored being productive. Shikamaru favored sleeping and watching clouds all day. But, despite this, Naruto learned a lot from him and his family.

Shikamaru and his father kept vast records of their operations and various studies. It had started first as a hobby for their ancestors and then became something that they were known for. Over the years their information keeping methods changed from paperback to computerized data. Shikamaru made out a template for him when they had a class project on records keeping and Naruto had simple kept it after making a good grade on it.

The template was easy to understand and broken down into simple objectives for your records you wanted to keep. Since Naruto documented all of his jobs – Discreetly of course. – it was easy for him to keep a well-documented paper on what was done, what was required, and what he did on the job. Since the subject was on his last job, that being the Ancient Grimm, he had come to studying all of the footage he had acquired during its rampage and surfacing.

The thing was tall, ranging well past a hundred meters tall and was most likely made up of two different types of animals given how the face and shell of its body was insect-like and its legs were badger-like. A probably mutation in the Grimm wasn't all that uncommon. New Grimm showed up each day with new abilities. An Ancient Grimm with two different types of bodies merged into one with the bug-like part being dominant. Its abilities were focused around the dust crystals on its back and utilized in an EMP style of attack.

This was just another sign of the mutations that Grimm could undergo. While no one was sure on anything with the Grimm, many theories were out there that some of the stronger and older ones might have unique abilities all to themselves. This theory was backed up by the smaller Nevermores that never hurled their feathers out like the older and bigger versions. While it was unknown why this was, it was believed that the reason may lie in their age and power. The older a Grimm was, the wiser it was, and by default it would be stronger. This lead many scientist to theorize that the older a Grimm was, the more unknown powers it might have.

So for the Badger Grimm it was very clear that an EMP ability might not be the only thing it carried in its arsenal. And if that was the case, Naruto feared for anyone foolish enough to go after it without the right resources backing them.

A gentle knock at his door pulled him from his work. He shut down the computer, threw on a shirt, grabbed his tea, and moved to the door. The soft click of the metal reverberated in his room as he pulled the door open and found Miltia standing in the hallway.

"You okay?"

"Can I come in?" Naruto nodded slowly and moved out of her way. She marched in and looked around the room for a moment before turning to face him. "We need to finish talking about what happened that night." The fox Faunus licked his lips and nodded carefully while shutting the door. "It was my fault. I got drunk. I know we've talked about it, but lately I've been curious as to why it happened and the more I think on it, the more I come to the conclusion that it was because I had needs for that night and I wanted them fulfilled."

"So you wanted to have sex with me?" Her cute and worried face twisted into a look of annoyance and anger. "What do you want me to say? That I'm sorry I fucked you in the ass? I already did that. There really isn't anything else I can say that would change what happened, because, guess what, nothing ever will."

"I'm trying to be nice here and you're just being rude."

"I'm sorry. I don't know what you want from me. I apologized for that night and I'm willing to take the blame for it. I was drunk, yes, but not to the point of making stupid choices. I chose to have sex with you when you told me to. If I had known you weren't in a sane state of mind at the time, I would have refused. I thought you wanted to have sex with me because… you needed it." And just like that her expression became calm. Naruto turned away from her and looked at the door. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

"No you're right. I did need it. And I'm thankful you gave me what I wanted. Believe me. I have toys back home that are bigger than you, but having the real thing and not having to truly work for it is slightly better than playing with them." Her eyes trailed off to look for something to hold her attention other than his soft smile. "I don't want this to be real. It won't be real. This is just… benefits to our friendship. It'll be nothing more."

"Friends with benefits, huh?" Naruto scratched his chin in thought and then laughed. "I'm not one for that word. I like what it entails, but I've never been a fan of the word."

She smiled warmly towards him. "So then we're cool now?" Naruto nodded. She looked at his bed and glanced shyly his way. "I do have an itch today."

"Well," Naruto began with a laugh, "I think I could-"

A pounding on his door interrupted him. Naruto shut his eyes while Miltia groaned. Tearing the door open, the two were greeted to the sight of Kiba. "I was wondering when you were going to let me in."

"Kiba, what the fuck do you want?"

"I stay here."

"No you don't. Get out and go away or else."

"Or else what?"

(-)

Junior walked out of the bathroom with a towel slung over his shoulder as he walked into the kitchen. Tearing open the fridge, he heard a groan and the sound of bones being forced back into place. Quickly, he dropped his towel, grabbed a pistol from under the cabinet and pointed it at the person that had dared to break into his home.

"Kiba?" he asked in shock.

The dog Faunus grimaced as he shoved his shoulder back into place and then finished tying off a splint that he had connected to his left arm. "…Yeah… I need a place to crash. Figured since I work with you and the Home Wrecker isn't going to let me stay with him; I figured I'd just stay with you until I can get a place of my own."

Flabbergasted at the sight of the injured mercenary, Junior closed his eyes tightly as he fought back the desire to shoot his newly acquired mercenary for any operation he wanted. Taking his towel and wrapping it around his waist, the information broker sighed and said, "What happened to you?"

"Naruto broke my arm when I refused to leave his apartment."

"Why didn't you just leave when he asked you to?"

"Our history is very dark and unfair. I get a girlfriend, he sleeps with my girlfriend and we breakup as a result."

"Why are you friends with him then? That seems rather stupid."

"We're not really friends. We get forced to work together regardless of our distrust for the other. That doesn't mean we can't get along. It's just rare." Kiba winced as he put his arm into a sling and leaned against the couch with a sigh of frustration. "I'm crashing for the night. I'll find a place tomorrow."

Shaking his, the information broker turned away to return to his room. He was too tired to contend with this tonight.

(-)

"I have job for you, Naruto."

The fox Faunus tore his angry gaze away from Kiba to stare at Junior as he brought out a slip of paper.

"I need you to go find Roman and make him come in to pay his tab. He owes me money and an explanation for what happened to my men he paid for a few months back. I know they were arrested, but from there, the trail goes cold. I want you to get information out of Roman and make come here to pay his tab willingly. The guy has information on me. Normally I'd just off him, but since it's clear he works for powerful people, I'm not taking the risk of him getting caught and talking about my work."

"Not like it's really a secret," Kiba pointed out. He was already fully healed and back in action. It marveled Junior and made him happy to know he had control of his aura. The stuff was the work of the divine, but damn if it couldn't cure hangovers. "So all he has to do is track down some idiot? How much you paying? I'll take it."

"I trust you to not kill this guy. Naruto won't kill him. You have a pretty bad rap sheet when it comes to killing people you're not supposed to kill." Kiba snorted and leaned against the counter. The twins were talking with Tayuya about something. Kiba grew bored with their conversation and walked over to the girls to crash their party while Naruto spoke with Junior. "I don't know his current location. His last location was at a warehouse on the corner of Monty Street near Haywood Airlines."

Taking a sip of his drink, the blond mercenary sighed and looked back at Kiba. "Tracking people down with limited information and on the spot is rather hard. How much are you paying me for this?"

"Enough to cover your tab and some extra. Why?"

"I'm going to have to split it with Kiba. Tracking isn't really my thing. I can keep him on a leash long enough to get the job done, but anyone else we run in to might die. I'd hate to leave a trail of bodies over a simple tab and some information on your stupid guys." Junior nodded sadly. A trail of bodies over something this dumb would be reckless. "I'll take the job. Make sure it's enough to cover my tab. I don't care about the extra. I do, but for this I don't care enough to want it." Knocking his drink back and downing it fully. "I'll be back soon."

He dropped some lien and grabbed up Kiba, pulling him away from the potential beating he was about to take from the three females.

"Come on. We got a job to do."

"Why not take me?" Tayuya asked, annoyed that she was being left behind.

"I need Kiba's nose. You can sit this one out. I'll pay for your drinks." He dragged Kiba out and tossed him towards his dog. "Have you heard of Roman Torchwick?"

Massaging his wrist and then holding his elbow where Naruto had previously broken his arm, the dog Faunus grimaced as he replied with, "Yeah, I've heard of the orange haired fucker. He robbed a few places in Vacuo near my hometown before he setup shop out here. Dirty bastard was almost caught back then before he became big like he is now. Why?"

"We're going after him. He owes Junior some money and some men since the ones he took with him a few months back disappeared. Junior would really like an explanation for this. So we're going after him."

"Well I need something to track him. Do you have anything of his?" Naruto smiled and produced a wallet. "You stole his wallet?"

"He tried to steal from me. I'm not going to allow that. Besides, it's not stealing if I steal from a thief or if it was already stolen."

"Not going to argue the morals behind that. So give it here." Snatching it from his fellow Faunus, Kiba took a big sniff of the thing and then passed it over to Akamaru. "We're hunting, boy. You know what that means?" Akamaru barked and Kiba ruffled his fur on the top of his head. "Good boy. We're ready."

"Lead the way."

(-)

"God damn it!"

Roman Torchwick was angry. Not his usual angry either. The stupid animals that Cinder had given him couldn't take orders worth a damn and it was starting to grate on him. How could she trust these mindless animals that only thought about revolution and killing all humans? It was mind numbingly stupid for her to believe that these idiotic creatures with delusions of grandeur could even hope to aid her in her master plane, something she still hadn't told him jack about.

That was another thing on the list of reasons he was angry. Why bring him in if she wasn't even going to tell him what her main goal was. So far he was only used as a thief and an authoritarian figure over the monsters. None of that really mattered when they questioned every order he gave them, did their job half assed, or decided to simply not do as they were told. His botched robbery at the docks was a sign of incompetence to them. That job was supposed to have been easy. All the guards were at the dock were already taken care of and they were supposed to be out in five minutes. That was long enough for them to grab everything that they needed and yet a few kids managed to stop them. _Kids_! How did that make sense?

And to make matters worse, his _relationship_ with the White Fang was strained by the fact that they lost over two dozen members to those children. A rescue plan was in order to break them out of the prison they were being detained in, but that didn't really matter now since they got word that the Headmaster from the Atlas Academy was on his way to Vale right now with a fleet of his airships as an escort. So even if they managed to come up with a plan to rescue their captured brethren, it wouldn't matter because they only had a few more days to come up with the plan to get them out. And they just found out where they were.

But the worst thing that made his day truly terrible wasn't any of that. No. The worst thing about today was that his lighter was stolen by that pink haired bitch, Emerald. She did it to toy with him, and at this point, he hated her. Well he always hated her, but not nearly as much as he hated Mercury, but still, he was a master thief and she was some illusionist child that liked to lay claim to being the best thief in the business. He would not stand for this. He was going to steal that thing back and then throw her literally to the dogs for them to have their way with her.

Taking off his hat, unbuttoning the top two buttons on his shirt, he sighed and started looking for something to lite his cigar. He needed to smoke one right now or he was going to grab Emerald, take it from her, then throw her to the White Fang members and tell them to rape her. Dark? Yes. Did he care? No. This wasn't some Saturday morning cartoon where the bad guys came together in their stupid underground base of operations to talk about plans to work together. This was real life. Get two people in arms reach of each other, even if they were bad guys, and they'd still try to kill each other for a damn penny.

"Need a lite?"

Roman jerked to the sound of the voice, reached for his cane only to find it gone and then scowled at the form of two male teenagers and a large white dog. His eyes were drawn to the one up front with a fox tail. "…You… I saw you at Juniors Club. What is a little fox like you doing in a place like this?"

Naruto chuckled and looked to Kiba as the dog Faunus snorted at the odd statement. "Is that supposed to be a sexualized question or are you just being a racist? I can't tell. Actually, I don't even care. Nothing you say will be as racist as he says," Naruto told him as he thumb-jabbed to Kiba. "This guy here is a Super Racist. He makes fun of everyone and will tell you how he feels about you."

"Shut the fuck up, Home Wrecker." Kiba hissed at him. When Roman looked as though he was going to say something, Kiba mouthed off with, "And keep your mouth shut, Cracker."

Roman snorted a laugh. He wasn't sure if this was a joke or if the person was doing it out of spite. "So why are the two of you here?"

Naruto stroked his chin in thought before he whipped out a pistol and started waving it around in the air like a madman. "I'm here because Junior wants you to pay your tab and tell him where his people are." Roman arched a brow as he watched the antics of the blond. Naruto stopped and sighed. "Sorry. I'm not good at intimidating people. I was always told to just wave the gun around and it gets things done."

"Well you'd be right if it wasn't for the fact that I'm used to this sort of stuff, I'd be a little intimidated. But frankly it's very clear that you have no idea on what you're doing. Your hand is shaking and judging from the look on your face, I'd say you've never killed someone before. So I'm not that-"

Naruto fired the gun and Roman stopped talking with wide eyes. "I was really hoping that'd be enough. I hate taking this sort of stuff seriously. Do you know how much I'm getting paid to deal with you? I have a tab of about four hundred and fifty at his club and I'm getting paid enough to pay off the tab and give the rest to the idiot behind me." Kiba rolled his eyes. Naruto pointed the gun at Roman's head as the orange haired man checked his crouch where the bullet had hit. "You're lucky I'm a good shot or you'd be on the ground with a missing testicle."

Chuckling nervously, the orange haired thief put his hands up as a show of none force. "…So… Junior sent you… All he wants is for me to come and pay a bill, right?"

"And give him information on what happened to his men."

"Well that one might be hard considering that a little girl in red managed to beat each and every single one of them up and made sure they got arrested by the Huntress. Besides, if you work for Hei, you know that his goons aren't worth the trouble or the money people invest in them. I'm surprised he didn't send them after me to have this little conversation we're having right now."

Naruto rolled his eyes and said, "You don't really care that I'm threatening you, do you?"

"Kid, I have been threatened by people far more dangerous than you. You aren't even worth the time of day for me to tell a story on to anyone else that might try this stunt you're pulling." Smiling, the blond lowered his gun, looked at him with an odd grin, and holstered his weapon. "See? That's a good boy. I know that somewhere deep down in that little brain of yours, you understand that I'm not the bad guy here and that I'm actually here to not cause trouble, but rather, teach this city what a real criminal is."

Snorting, Naruto turned to Kiba and said, "Rough him up," as he stepped to the side.

Cracking his knuckles, the dog Faunus grinned as he grabbed the thief by his shirt and lifted him up. Roman grunted as he felt the nails of the dog Faunus begin to dig into his skin. "I'm not a big fan of people that like to pick on others because that's my job. I'm not hired muscle either. So don't think I'm stupid." Reeling back with one arm, Kiba punched him in the face twice before throwing him at a box that broke on impact and spilled dust shards on the concrete floor. Roman reached for one of them but came up short when Kiba said, "You don't have a way of igniting them without blowing yourself up in the process. So don't think about it."

Grumbling, the thief got to his feet, dusted himself off, and looked back at the blond. "So what's your plan for making pay up? Rough me up a bit? Threaten me some more at gunpoint? Or do you intend to actually hurt me?"

Thinking on it, Naruto nodded as if he were talking to someone. "You're right. I should do something to you to make sure you come pay up. I mean, I'm supposed to only get a message across that you need to pay him for his services that were rendered. I suppose I could shoot you, but what good would that do him? He wants information and payment and I'm willing to do whatever he wants me to do in order to get what he wants. So," Naruto twirled the captured cane around, "I'm not in a mood to off you or truly harm you. So that leaves me with a bit of an unanswered question on what to do with you."

"I say we just kill him."

Roman glared at the dog Faunus. His ire was growing by the minute with these two began arguing over what to do with him. He contemplated grabbing one of the shards and hitting them with him. It might not detonate, but it would probably hurt them a lot. Could he take them on without his cane? Sure, he was strong, but these two were cheating him. They were dragging him around, meaning they were stronger than they appeared. It was bad enough that one girl could control a few dozen floating blades and shoot a freaking laser from said weapons, but what could these two do?

"Fine," Naruto grumbled, ending his argument with Kiba. "If you're not going to do it without killing him, I'll do it myself." Naruto snatched Roman up and pinned him against the wall. He flexed his right hand, popping bones as he did, and then smiled viciously. Roman opened his mouth and screamed; or would have if Naruto had sucked all the oxygen out of his lungs and created a dome over his head. "Here's how this is going to work. I'm going to release you. You're going to get on your knees and tell me that you're going to get the money and take it to Junior tomorrow. You'll also understand that if I'm sent after you again, you'll not only be paying with your limbs, but you'll be losing whatever credit you have over whoever you have working for you because this will be the third time a bunch of _kids_ have foiled whatever plans you have for this city."

Roman started beating on Naruto's wrist.

"And of course, if you don't supply us with the information for the whereabouts of his missing men, I'll get sent out after you, meaning the same threat still applies, but with more torture. See, information gathering is sort of something I'm good at. True, I'm not the best at it, but I'm not too bad at it. It's sort of my main hobby. Consider it the curse of being a fox Faunus. I'm naturally a mischief maker and lover of information gathering. If you want to think of me as anything, think of me as the girl that loves to gossip, only reversed. I know all the dirty secrets of the world and will spill them if it means I get more information for what I know."

Naruto let him fall as he released his Semblance. Roman rolled over gasping hungrily for air. The color in his face turned back to normal.

"We're not going to have to make me come after you, now are we, Roman Torchwick?" Roman shook his head while holding his throat as he scooted away from the Faunus. "Good. Kiba, take your trophy." The dog Faunus grinned as he reached down and stole the cigar from the orange haired man. He made a grab for it, but Kiba took a swipe at him with his claws and got him across the face. "Kiba doesn't like it when people take his trophies. It's the one and only thing I won't mess with of his."

Roman coughed once more and they left. He wasn't on his feet for more than a minute before the sound of footsteps caught his attention. Cinder, Mercury, and Emerald walked up to him with confused looks on their faces. "What happened to you?"

Rubbing his throat, the thief said, "Nothing but a small pest problem I'll be dealing with soon."

A/N

This will conclude the two part chapter. And so we're clear if some of you didn't understand the meaning of this ending, we're now done with Volume 1 of RWBY. So with this story I'm not setting out to make Naruto some sort of super badass that is deemed godly. Rather, I'm trying to make him appear human. Naruto, as stated by Tayuya, is human first and a solider second. He will have human aspects to him in a way that I'm going to try come off as though it's something humanity can do. That's all I'm really trying to do.

Hopefully the next update will be with Unsung Hero and Different Kind of Soul, along with Brave New World. This story is sort of a fun one to work with as I'm trying something rather new that I'm having too much fun with.


	8. A New Threat

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A/N

This story is entirely fan-made and fictional. Any acts that you might find offensive, disguising, inhuman, wrong or just don't like, we are not liable for. You are reading this story of your own free will and not being forced, if you don't like something we are not forcing you to stay and read it. Please leave the page and re-frame from reading the chapter and or story. All Copyrighted Characters belong to their respect owners. We don't claim anything that is not our own creation and are merely using them for fan made material.

We accept constructive criticize and help but being rude and disrespectful will not be tolerated. This is done for the fun of writing not to make every little person happy, while making people happy with are stories is great we are not here for Money, Fame or Fortune this is done for the simply joy of writing.

Chapter 8

"Do you know why I hate Vacuo?"

"I haven't a clue, but I assume you're going to tell us."

"I hate Vacuo not because of the sun. Not because of the sand. Not because everyone is inbreed to the point of stupidity out here in the middle of butt-fuck nowhere. No. I hate Vacuo for one reason and one reason only: The mother fucking heat. I'm not sure if I pissed myself or if my panties are just soaked with sweat to the point I think I pissed them. My bra is either soaked with milk or sweat and I can smell it which is making me want to fucking gag."

Naruto calmly turned to face the two bickering teammates he had and said, "Can you two please shut the hell up? We have a reason to be quiet right now if you haven't forgotten?"

Kiba and Tayuya both glared at him. Naruto scowled at them before turning back to the task at hand.

Scarlett contacted them again some two days ago requesting another operating out of Vale. This one brought them to Vacuo, Kiba and Tayuya's home Kingdom, to search for a new type of Grimm. More specifically, they were looking for another Ancient Grimm. Scarlett confessed to knowing about the Ancient Grimm and had taken an interest in finding all of the known Ancient Grimm locations. Vacuo had an Ancient Grimm supposedly but no one could prove that it existed or where it was. There was some evidence to make the claim that an Ancient Grimm did live out here, but the information surrounding it was always somewhat strange.

Whatever this thing was, whether it was an Ancient Grimm or not, it was entirely possible that it was an Ancient Grimm. Far up north, beyond the walls and the great cities of Atlas, lay a terrible Ancient Grimm. It lived in total seclusion and was twice the size of the average Beowolf. They knew it was Ancient Grimm because of its power and its smarts. It was a brood mother and possessed more strength than even that of the Elephant-type Grimm. A single punch from the creature could topple a building. It once beat one of the seven legendary swords in half.

But this Grimm was nothing but stories and odd sightings of an odd Grimm that slithered along the ground.

They were given a location on where to look and if they find anything out of the ordinary they were to document it and bring back the information for study. This operation was designed entirely for the study of Grimm.

Vacuo was a land of sand and not much else. It had sprawling cities with lush forests the closer you got to the center of the Kingdom, but the further out you got the cities got smaller, their defenses seemingly weaker. And once you hit the very edge of their controlled areas they had small cities that were owned by a few families that had staked their claim to the land. These people were the bravest and dumbest people out there when they did this. But they weren't truly dumb. When compared to a place like Vale, they didn't have the forest to shield them and contain the larger more aggressive Grimm. They had lots of open space where the Grimm could run at full speed and snag you.

To get around this, Vacuo used its toxic plants as a means of protection from the Grimm. Unlike the Grimm that lived in the other Kingdoms, a large majority of Vacuo's Grimm was sightless or had very poor sight to begin with. To compensate for this they hunted with their nose or by sensing vibration. While most Grimm did hunt with their nose, only a two species of Grimm in Vacuo hunted by vibration. The region they were in was thankfully devoid of either type, so they had to only worry about those that hunted by smell, which, thanks to Kiba, were able to stave that off with special grains of sand from nests that various types of Grimm used to construct them in this region.

The small towns, like the one they stayed in last night, used toxic plants that had a very putrid smell to them to stave them off. To make sure they stuff was capable of fighting off the Grimm and their sensitive noses, it was also laced with a plant that when ground down into paste and left sitting in the sun for twelve hours before being combined with a few other plants that made it acidic. This, when combined with the smelling plant, made it to where it burned the sensitive receptors of their noses and made them stay far away from the towns and small homes that were set up in. The acidic nature of it was meant to ward off the ant Grimm that were, well, ants. They were small and weak, but when a horde of them came your way, running was honestly the only option. They were no bigger than an eraser and very common in the more thorny areas of Vacuo.

Pulling out his scroll, Naruto began flipping through the apps he had on it before he got to the camera and video one. He expanded his scroll and took a shot of the opening they were at. Directly two hundred feet below them was a hole roughly a mile in diameter with smaller holes along the walls. Grimm of various sizes, all of them bug-types, scurried about as if they were working. Perhaps they were and they just couldn't see or understand it fully.

Naruto documented it and then ordered them to move on. This wasn't the hole they were meant to look at. There were three others spots they were meant to look at before they could head back.

The idea of documenting all known Ancient Grimm was a suicidal operation. Ancient Grimm, until recently, were always seen as outcasts and creatures with immense strength and special abilities. Add in their incredible wisdom and you were facing off against even with an army backing them. Their sheer power alone was enough to trouble anyone. But add in their wisdom and you were looking at something that could think almost as well as a human and come up with tactics to counter whatever it might face. To the one percent of the world that knew of their existence, only three Ancient Grimm were now known to them. There was the Leviathan, the one that came out of Distant Haven, and the Dragon that nested in the mountains outside of Vale. But there were two more that Naruto, and by default his client, knew about.

This was one such Ancient Grimm. The one in Vacuo might have been nothing but rumors and stories, but Naruto knew better. He'd read the reports on possible sightings and confrontations. It was supposed to be big and mostly worm-like. Despite this, there were dozens of other odd sightings and oddities out there concerning this thing. Dating back for the last sixty years numerous bases were ransacked by raiders, pirates, invading armies, and Grimm. In one very small documented fight against Vacuo, Vale made a quick strike against a small military base that they set up on edge of their territory. Vale reported total victory over night. There were only eight shots fired and no causalities to the Vale forces. Vacuo forces were completely wiped out. With the base in their custody, Vale set up shop and held it strong for two months before relenting and giving it back to the Vacuo military.

The eight bullets that were fired were for dead checks. They wanted to ensure that the soldiers they found were dead, as most seemingly died from a lack of injuries. And although no autopsy was done, it was later theorized that they died from poison or small Grimm that had gotten into the body through some means. From a military point of view, winning a battle with no casualties and only firing eight bullets was an amazing feat. Their commander was rewarded for his remarkable victory and the case was closed on Vale's side of the story.

Vacuo was a different story.

As soon as the military base fell, code named Europa, and was taken back, an investigation was put into place. Five hours before the base fell, they got out a warning call and the base then went silent. Their warning call was a garbled message of screams and the words "Bugs" over and over again. The idea of Grimm invading them wasn't all that strange, but given that this was a base that had stood against them for years and never once been breached was even stranger. The corpses they recovered were ripped to shreds, but those with military power were left with only a huge hole in their head. This was either done as a way of lowering their moral or by Grimm of some kind.

This was the first clue to the existence of an Ancient Grimm in Vacuo. No other Grimm went after certain types of people. But whatever type of Grimm it was had been in question for a while. Vacuo military had looked in on the incident and decided that it was meant to cripple their moral and nothing more on the incident. Even now they were clueless to the other odd incidents that were happening.

Sadly, this wasn't the last time it had happened.

Over the course of the last sixty years, two hundred and seventy-nine reports have come in of people of various positions of the military, wealth, religious standings, and species. Each one was almost always overshadowed by a vicious attack that left more than a dozen dead or was families that had opted to live out in the middle of nowhere and away from the protection of larger cities and their people. While these attacks were strange and no one to Naruto's knowledge had put the pieces together in Vacuo, he wasn't stupid enough to believe he hadn't been the only one to see it. But the likely event of anyone putting the pieces together was also rather slim, given how a lot of the Grimm that existed in their area had two front hook arms. But it was the width of their arms that were always the biggest clue.

Kiba came to a sudden stop. The other two followed suit.

"Don't move," he said softly in a quiet voice. He reached into his pocket and the earth began to bulge up around them. A small black lizard creature emerged and began slowly chomping at the dirt around them. Kiba pulled out a fist sized rock and looked at his blond haired friend. Naruto narrowed his eyes as they shimmered red. Once he gave him a nod, Kiba reeled back and hurled the rock as hard as he could without moving. The lizard creature dove back into the earth and disappeared only to appear where the rock was and devour it. Kiba nodded once he saw the rock disappear into the earth. A moment later a thud was heard and the soil collapsed in on itself. "That's odd that one of those are here."

"Tectonic shift, perhaps?" Tayuya reasoned.

Naruto shut his eyes and started to think on it before looking at the soil. He stuck his hand in it and then pushed it further. The surface layer was hard earth made up most of the top soil while the earth underneath was soft. Naruto st4ood up and looked around. "The ground is soft under this hard stuff. Soft enough for them to move around in without problem, I think." Kiba swore and Tayuya looked around in fear. "I think we should hurry this up before more of them come."

Kiba lead them the rest of the way to the next set of mines and they commenced their study. Much to Kiba and Tayuya's credit, they never ran in to anymore Grimm for the duration of their stay. As soon as they cleared out the last two and got to the third one, they noticed that something was horribly off with the entire thing. More Grimm then they could count lay at the bottom of a large hole that they had dug out with various types of Grimm all roaming around working. It was the first time they had ever seen Grimm working at all.

Naruto pulled out his scroll and started recording them. Kiba motioned to something in the distance and Naruto zoomed in on it. It was a humanoid Grimm that was bloated and sporting one eye on the right side of its head. It wobbled around and stood near a few other bug-type Grimm that snarled at it and made stomping motions. It snarled back and shriveled like its body was cold. Naruto watched it for a few minutes before he started sweeping over the rest of the landscape. The Grimm had built an oversized anthill in the ground with all the holes they had dug into the side of the smooth stone.

Naruto paused when he caught sight of one of the bug Grimm looking at him. It sported a long beak that was made up of two parts and used just for tearing at its enemies while closer to the main body was the actual mouth. It sported two pincher-like arms and stood on six pointed legs. The entire thing was black say for the beak that was white. But the fact that it was looking at him was alarming as they were of the blind variety. In all the times people had captured them they had never found eyes on them. So they were labeled as blind.

"We're leaving," Naruto told them as he turned around. He turned his scroll around and made sure to record the creature as he walked away.

(-)

"Sir?"

James glanced up from his paperwork and rubbed his eyes. His talks with his Council were still fresh on his mind. "What is it?" The woman turned over a data pad to him and he glanced at it. It was a list of findings his scout teams had recovered on the boarders to Vale. Word of some problems had reached his ears and he sent a team to investigate. He hadn't thought much on it and had yet to get authorization from Ozpin on the matter. He'd bring it up with him later. But glancing over it made him wish he had gotten in contact with him first. "Are they back?"

"Yes, Sir. They got back an hour ago and just finished filing the report. I figured you wanted to see it… given how strange it was."

"Can you send them up?" The man nodded and departed to grab the team. James continued to look over the report until they arrived. The leader of the unit arrived ten minute later and stood at attention before him. James took pride in knowing all of the people on his ship. This woman was up there with the best of his troops back home. Shame about her attitude and mouth. "Anko, what happened down there?"

Huffing, the woman slouched and then he saw the glint in her eye she was known for. "Did you read the report I submitted?" was her sarcastic reply. James wouldn't be lying if he said he had thought about shooting her once or twice. The woman could follows rules, but her tone and moral code was always brought into question. It seemed like no matter what kind of good she did it was always outdone by the negative things she was known for. Like this, for example.

"I did. But I want to hear your report verbally."

Groaning, she adjusted a ring on her finger as she said, "When we got down to the location there were signs of a struggle of some sort. We found some Grimm tracks and enough carnage for it to have been them, but then we found some travelers that were talking about something fighting back against them. Said they saw a large Grimm eating other Grimm. The idea alone was so insane that I even put it in the report." She gestured to the tablet. James regarded it for only a fraction of a second. She continued. "We also found signs of human footprints. They were heading towards Vale. The people we found said they didn't see anyone heading that way. If they weren't taking the main road, they were going through the forest."

"And that's a death sentence," James reasoned. He didn't like the idea of some unknown out there, let alone something that was _eating_ other Grimm. But if there were people out in the forest right now, they were most likely dead or doing something illegal. "I want you to start monitoring the forest as best you can from this altitude. Let's see if we can find this person." Anko nodded and departed. James looked at the data again before turning the pad off and walking towards his mirror. He didn't like what he saw in it. _What has this world come to if we can't share information with each other?_ He shut his eyes and then remembered his own secrets he was keeping from Ozpin. _She's necessary for the future of the world._

He turned around and sat back behind his desk. He'd be in Vale in a few hours and he wanted to make sure that everything went well for his arrival.

(-)

Tayuya walked out of the bathroom with the towel wrapped around her waist and scowled at the leering form of Kiba. "I can't remember the last time I saw your breasts, baby."

"Is that your best pickup line or are you just talking to yourself?" She walked over to her bag and started finding some clothes.

Their trip back had been worse than expected. Naruto didn't much care if Ozpin or Qrow knew where he was coming from or going and made no effort to hide his information from either of them. To them he wasn't doing anything illegal, and by default he wasn't. Tayuya and Kiba on the other hand had to take round about trips separately. Her flight was delayed by four hours and Kiba's flight was delayed by only an hour. Then her ride was late and to make matters worse it was hotter in Vale than it was in Vacuo.

As infuriating as it was, she was happy to live with the knowledge that Kiba was once again not allowed in Naruto's place and that she was allowed to crash there for the night.

She threw on a shirt and dropped her towel. Kiba whistled and she reached for her dagger. He wisely turned away from her and clammed up. She put on some panties and then grabbed a pair of jeans. Once she was dressed she sighed in content and walked into the computer room where Raven was going over the data with him. Naruto was talking to her about something and when she looked at his computer, it was the Grimm that she had seen watching them. She hadn't thought anything strange about it until she saw the camera angle shift and then focus back on it. The Grimm had looked away when they retreated.

"They don't have the ability to see," Raven told him. Naruto pointed at it. "That proves nothing. It might have sensed that you were leaving."

"By our smell?" She ran hand over her face. He tapped the monitor. "It saw us leave. Somehow, those sightless Grimm were able to see us leave. It watched me take video footage. That means it can see." Raven shook her head, unbelieving of his little idea. Tayuya watched it two times before she snorted. "What? You think I'm crazy?"

She leaned over and pointed to it. "It doesn't have eyes that we can physically see or see as eyes." She explained. Naruto watched the footage again. She elaborated. "Some animals have poor eyesight that is made up by their sense of smell. Well… what if Vacuo's method for fighting them off is now giving them something new? Evolution still applies to the Grimm. We've seen it before with the Ursa when they started attaining more mass on their legs to allow them to walk upright when fighting us. So what if they developed a sensory organ that we can't see or recognize as such?"

"That's not entirely impossible," Raven confessed. "But the footage doesn't show anything like that."

Naruto stopped it when the Grimm turned away from them as they left. "It doesn't have any that I can see." He made a copy of the footage and shut down his computer. "In any event I have to take this over to Ozpin." Tayuya gave him an odd look. He rolled his eyes as he grabbed the thumb drive. "I'm not giving him this information to cover up something I did. I'm giving it to him because my fight is against the Grimm. Besides, we can't ignore the new Grimm we saw. Vacuo needs to be made aware of them and take counter measures to ensure their citizens safety against their evolutions."

"I'm not arguing against that," Tayuya confessed. "It's just that your time is a little off. Ironwood is showing up today and if I'm right, he should be showing up soon. He's already going to make an appearance in town in a couple of days to show his military might and cutting edge technology he's acquired with the SDC."

"He might make a grab for you." Raven added.

Pocketing the device, the Faunus shook his head. "No he won't. He's not that kind of a man." He walked out into the main room and stared at Kiba. Raven disappeared in one of her portals to God only knows where. Tayuya leaned against the doorframe with her eyes narrowed on the dog Faunus. "Kiba, when I return you better not be here or I'm breaking your arm… again." And with that, Naruto left to go have a talk with Ozpin. It wasn't like he was enjoying his day so far either.

His trip to Beacon was quicker than he wanted it to be. The view that Beacon usually offered was now ruined by the carriers that now hovered above the city. It was a god awful sight to see. Naruto didn't hate James for showing up with them either. Travel between Kingdoms was now increasingly difficult after the Distant Haven incident. And to make things worse, there were talks about a group trying to overthrow the current government that wasn't the White Fang. And with the White Fang now stepping up their game to more radicle steps, the growing tension for travel was rather high.

Naruto walked inside the academy and began looking for the elevator to Ozpin's office when he bumped into someone. "Sorry," he said quickly. It was a man with blond hair and blue eyes. Naruto almost thought he was looking in a mirror until he noticed that lack of a fox tail and the scars that looked like whiskers on the mans' face. "Are you okay? I didn't mean to bump into you."

"It's alright," he confessed with a laugh. "I should have been paying attention to where I was going." He stopped and pointed at him. "I've never seen you around here. My name's Jaune Arc. Short. Sweet. Rolls of the tongue. Ladies love it."

Naruto's face fell for a moment as his prankster side kicked in. "Really…? That's a unique talent. So you have a long tongue that can reach that far in?" Jaune became flabbergasted and started sputtering. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I have a meeting with Ozpin. Do you by any chance know how to get to his office?"

"I can help you with that, Mr. Uzumaki." Naruto turned his head just enough to see Glynda Goodwitch with her riding crop out and a glare aimed at him. "Mr. Arc, you should be heading back to class. I'm sure Mrs. Peach won't be happy to know that you're skipping class." Jaune quickly departed before he was on the receiving end of a riding crop. Naruto watched him go with a shake of his head. "Please tell me you're here to turn yourself in for your crimes."

"You wish, Mrs. Fetish." He smiled and she tightened her grip on her riding crop. "I'm here to talk to your boss. I have some information on some new Grimm that are in Vacuo."

"Why not report it to Vacuo?"

"Well I'm wanted for various crimes of sexual harassment. I don't even know what that means." Naruto popped a stick of gum in his mouth as she stared at him. The staring contest only last a few seconds before she turned and started walking. Naruto followed after her. She led him to an elevator. As soon as they were inside she put her riding crop to his throat. "Can I help you?"

"Why are you even here giving us information that could be falsified by your tampering?"

Naruto tapped his chin in thought before saying, "Do you spend a lot of time at the library? You strike me as someone that does with the way you put your hair up, the outfit, reading glasses, and the fact you use a riding crop as a weapon doesn't truly help your case at all." Her eyes darkened. "Do the curtains match the drapes?"

The riding crop hummed to life with dark energy as she prepared to thrust him against the wall. The elevator came to a stop and opened up. Ozpin was looking out the window when they entered. Glynda inhaled deeply as she said, "You're lucky that Ozpin doesn't want to arrest you for your illegal activities," as she marched over to her boss and stared at the window as well. "The view is ruined because of his ships."

Ozpin nodded and turned around to face the two fully. Naruto put his hands in his pockets and shook his head. "That's one thing we agree on," he told her as he walked up to the desk. Ozpin cracked a smile as the female teacher sneered his way. "You look at people that way and you'll never get laid, Mrs. Fetish." She ground her teeth as Ozpin calmly sat back down and hit a button on his desk. The elevator shut. Naruto pulled out the thumb drive and tossed it to him. "I went to Vacuo on an Grimm Study assignment for a client that was interested in the new species of Grimm in Vacuo. I thought you might like to take a look at my findings."

Ozpin ran his thumb over the drive and then put it in his desk. The top of his desk lit up and turned into a hologram projector as the elevator dinged and James walked out. The look of surprise on his face was almost priceless and made up for his fleet that was now ruining the mood outside. Ozpin presented him with a cup of coffee and the Atlas General poured something in it from a flask. "So what do I owe the pleasure of having you here, Naruto?" James asked. Naruto gestured to Ozpin and allowed the man to take center stage as he activated the drive.

"Naruto has brought some interesting information about Vacuo's Grimm situation." The hologram was a collection of videos and pictures from the footage that had been enlarged and more defined. Ozpin made a quick call to someone before continuing, but now he was asking questions. "I understand that Vacuo is a home to a great amount of Bug-type Grimm and that of all the Grimm we know of, they are the ones that show the greatest mystery to us."

Naruto gestured to the images and started swiping through them until he found the image of the debated "sightless" Bug Grimm. James folded his arms at the sight of the creature. "I have video footage of this thing turning away from me when I backed off and turned away from it." He flipped through the files until he found the footage. It played and James was left confused on the matter. Ozpin saw what he was getting at and laced his fingers together. "My client doesn't want to think that this is proof that they have some kind of sight to them that we're currently unable to understand. I would move that they do. Its reaction to me turning my back and walking away from it is that it then did the same. Meaning that it was aware of what I did and did the same thing as a sign of nonaggression."

"But it's sightless." Glynda told him heatedly.

"It might not be," Ozpin countered. He leaned back in his chair and tapped his chin in thought. "The idea of eyesight is always followed by eyes that we can see and identify as eyes. But what if we're simply not looking at it right?" James looked at the still image with his squinted eyes. "What if it doesn't have normal eyes that we can see? We've done intense study on the eyes that they have since they glow. This was something that intrigued enough people before that study was shut down due to high causalities and low return. So it's understandable if we're missing something that small and basing it on the what we don't see."

"That's all fine and dandy, but it's not the real reason I'm giving you this information." Naruto flipped through them until he brought up the humanoid Grimm. "This is the reason." The three adults went wide eyed at it. It was clearly human in nature. But the flesh was bloated like it had been out in the sun for too long and didn't sport much in the way of armor like how most of the normal Grimm had. Part of it looked like it was had clothing on under the flesh, but it was hard to tell. The single glowing eye was the only real thing that made it stand out as a Grimm. "This was found at the mouth of a cave in the same hole. When one other Grimm got close to it, there was going to be a confrontation of some sort but the bigger one backed off. This ain't normal."

"I can bring this to Vacuo's attention." Ozpin told him. "I'll erase any information concerning you on it. I imagine you'd like me to keep it a secret where I got this from?"

"If you could, I'd be grateful. But that's up to you. My only reason for giving you this is to bring this information to their attention." Naruto looked at the odd Grimm and then said, "It looks almost human, doesn't it?" Ozpin nodded grimly. James grimaced as he continued to look over the image of the humanoid monstrosity. "I have some stuff back at my place that I'm going to use to study the footage. If I find anything else I'll be sure to let you know."

"Thank you." Ozpin yanked out the drive and looked it over for a moment before adding, "Naruto, why did you decide to become a mercenary? Surely it's not because you get to make your own rules, now is it?"

Naruto had made his way to the elevator and stopped at it to think on his question. He licked his lips and said, "I can't stand the idea of pencil pushers tying everyone's hands up while others die as a result."

"Naruto, I'll see you out." James turned to Ozpin and said, "I'll be back in a minute. This won't take long," as he entered the elevator and closed it. Naruto didn't look at him. James looked ahead and said, "I know you don't want to come back, but I'd like you to come back with me to Atlas. Clear your name at least. Set the record straight."

"Why?"

"Why?" James repeated him, now finally facing him. Naruto turned his head just enough to show his ire towards the man. "If this is about your arm; I'm sorry. I did everything I could. I know the doctors did everything they could. I tried to get you into my academy without you completing you rehabilitation. Your mind alone could think of ways out of fights. I figured the Council would allow it. I was wrong."

"It's not about _just_ that." Naruto held the side of his face with his prosthetic hand. "The Council is corrupt. They let the man who did this to me live and walk without a problem. I know that in the end I _choose_ to let him off the hook. But if I could have put a bullet in his eye, I would have. The man didn't deserve to live. And he did it to others as well. If I could have put him in the ground, you better believe I would have." Naruto turned away from the Headmaster, shaking his head as he said, "And the worst thing is that everyone thought I was…" he stopped and shut his eyes.

James nodded. "I know. After your encounter with the White Fang and your victory over them, they all thought you were affiliated with them." The Headmaster ran a hand through his hair. That was a trying time for him. Naruto's creditability had taken a massive dent. With the incident being during his third year at a starter school, he had faced a lot of criticism and rumors that he was a member of their organization. Perhaps he had been and had just opted to get out before things went south for him. James didn't know or care. "Your mother misses you."

"I know." Naruto licked his lips and shut his eyes. For a moment there was only pain etched across his face.

James stopped the elevator before it reached the ground floor. "I know you don't wanna come back. I get that. But please just… Just come back and clear your name. Set the record straight. You can make things better for yourself. I've read the reports. I know what happened. They were mercy killings. You couldn't see a way out. You knew they were going to die. So you didn't want them to suffer in the end. I get that."

"That's not the reason I'm not coming back." Naruto told him. James turned the elevator back on and it resumed its journey. Naruto reached over and stopped it. His gaze was now locked on the Atlas General. "I don't want to return because it means facing up to Sasuke and my ultimate failure. I failed _her_. I promised him that I'd protect _her_. He turned to me for that and I let him down."

"Is that what this is about?" The doors opened and Naruto walked out. James grabbed his shoulder to stop him. "You need to let it go. Let _her_ go. What happened wasn't your fault." Naruto tore away from him and kept walking. "I want to continue this conversation later. Is there a place in town we can meet and talk? Someplace private?"

Naruto stopped and looked at the ceiling. Students passed between them chatting away. Naruto didn't look back as he said, "Tomorrow evening at The Hole. I'll be there around two if you wanna talk. But don't mention _her_ or I will leave." Naruto disappeared behind a wall of students. James returned to Ozpin and started his meeting.

(-)

"Sir, you need to see this."

James huffed in annoyance. No sooner had he gotten back to his ship he had been pulled aside twice for an urgent matter. The first one was for the Council and his stance on the recon job he had his soldiers do as soon as they entered the Kingdom of Vale. The sheer stupidity of what he did was dumbfounding to them. They hadn't been pleased by his choice to intervene in their affairs. James stood his ground with his choice to investigate the matter. Ozpin even thanked him for looking into it. The other thing that he was pulled to the side about was odd activity outside of the city walls. He sent a team to investigate it and they came back nothing to report.

"What is it?" He asked tiredly. A data pad was thrust into his arms and he scowled at it. It warmed to life and he began flipping through the contents. Sighing, he nodded and said, "I'll take care of it. Thank you for bring it to my attention." He retired to his office and started calling one of his Specialists. It took it a while before the person picked up. "Winter," he greeted coldly. The woman stood ramrod straight. He could tell, even though he was sure she was sitting behind a desk in his fathers' mansion. "I understand you're looking in on some reports for your father. I know he's family, but I have an assignment for you."

" _What do you need me to do?"_

James transmitted the data over to her as he said, "A recent shipment of our new Paladins were stolen." Winter's eyes narrowed slightly in confusion. "I know that the product has been getting moved through backchannels to avoid having their delivery locations compromised. Clearly my precautions didn't work. So I want you to guard the next shipment. It won't be leaving any time soon, but I thought I'd give you your orders now rather than later. I'll send you the details when I know the shipment times for the next batch."

" _Understood."_ She hesitated and then said, " _Sir, my father has asked me to look in on some personal matters concerning odd transactions. I'd like a second opinion, if you don't mind. Can I send you the data?"_ He nodded and she sent it over. He spent a full minute looking it over before he returned his gaze to her. _"The company paid those four people a vast sum of money for a failed operation and to make things stranger, the client was one Scarlett Schnee. No relations. And she is working out of my sisters' dorm room. That's where all the money and the information come from. But I know Weiss well enough to know she couldn't do this and wouldn't do this. She may resent our father, but this is…"_ She let it hang there.

"So you think someone tampered with the information and set up fake their location? How certain are you that Weiss has no involvement?"

" _I'd stake my military career on it."_

James shut his eyes and knew that her words were true. "I'll go over it in detail and get back to you as soon as I can. I have a few people I can turn it over to if you'll allow me. I'll tell them it's important and needs to be kept a secret." She nodded her thanks and closed the line. James leaned against the soft chair and massaged his prosthetic arm. _It never gets any better._ He inhaled deeply and then got up. He had somewhere to be before he could go out and talk with Naruto tomorrow.

(-)

"You need to go get new clothes if you're going to work with us."

"I'd rather break my arm."

"Then break your arm. But you'll have to-"

Crack!

Junior, Melanie, and Militia stared at the dog Faunus that was Kiba Inuzuka, the Wolf of Vacuo, as he broke his right arm at the bicep. Junior would admit it. He was impressed. Only a truly devoted man would do something like that. He said he'd break his arm to get out of shopping with two females, and by Oum, he did it. What sane man did that?!

"…Fine. You don't have to get new clothes. But I do request that you wear a reasonable shirt. You bring in enough females, but I like to serve males as well. So please, for my customers' sake, wear an actual shirt." Junior then poured himself some scotch and started his slow process of winding down. It was about to be closing time in thirty minutes. The younger generation stuck it out the longest usually. Junior wasn't foolish enough to believe there weren't a few older people here doing illegal things or setting up something of that nature. But even the younger generation was starting to tire out at nearly four in the morning. "So how was your trip to Vacuo?"

Kiba licked his teeth as he said, "It sucked. It reminded me why I hate my home town. Half of the people I know are inbred and the other half are stupid enough to have sex with animals." Kiba grabbed his glass of whisky and downed it in one gulp. "Twenty miles away from us there is a town that's so backwards that they still have their tree that they used to hang people from. My dad used to take me out there all the time when I was younger. When I got older he told me that I needed to know my roots so he took me to a hanging."

"Is that why you're racist?" Melanie asked.

"I get that from my mom. Technically I'm not a racist. Naruto likes to say I am. I stereotype." Melanie snorted and he rolled his eyes at her. Akamaru whimpered and started licking his broken arm. "People say that stereotyping is wrong or that they don't usually do it. That just means that they do it to a few types of people. If you wanna be that way, more power to you. But if that's how you wanna do it, go pet the pit bull." The three nodded. "I do have fun doing it sometimes. I like pointing out gay people. I don't know why. I just do."

"Do you make fun of them?" Miltia asked. She stirred her mix drink with the straw before

"I make fun of everyone. No one is safe from me." Kiba flexed his broken arm as Akamaru continued to lick it. Sighing, the dog Faunus patted Akamaru's head and laughed. "I'll recover from this pretty quick. I can sleep almost anything off." Junior rolled his eyes as he poured himself another glass. Naruto walked up with a yawn and Kiba said, "Finally getting tired? How'd your meeting go?"

"It went," he said with a hiss. Naruto ran a hand over his face as he said, "Do you remember being a kid and thinking that your future self would have the answer to any problem you currently face? I kind of wish my younger self wasn't so stupid to believe that I'd have be smart enough to have any answers my younger self had."

"It's the curse of being young," Junior confessed. He started cleaning a glass. "When I was little, my dad told me that the older you get, the more you find out your life is nothing but a lie. What's the first lie we're told as children. Santa. Then it's the Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy. When we get older, get a girl, that's a lie. Their boobs are fake and we never climax together. All of that is a lie unless you read it in a book or are just that good. And statistics have shown that only about forty percent of the males on the planet can do that to a woman."

Naruto shook his head and said, "Probably because they're only getting their information from the porn industry." The men shared a laugh and the two girls rolled their eyes. Miltia looked at Naruto funny and retreated to the backroom where they kept some of their supplies. The blond watched her go before looking at Melanie. "Well it's the bottom of the ninth and the score is tied. It's time for the big one."

Grinning, Kiba slid a beer towards his fellow Faunus. "You up for this one, Home Wrecker?"

"Just a walk in the park." Naruto took a long swig of the beer before smiling. "When I was a boy, my mom taught me the value of patience and careful planning. To this day I still enjoy those lessons. So to that end," Naruto reached into his back pocket and withdrew an old small note, "Did you know that when you were little, Kiba, you're parents thought you were going to be a girl? They had planned everything around having another daughter and when you were born they grew worried. I have, in my hand, some of the names you were going to be called. I'm only going to say one." Kiba laughed. "Tsuki Inuzuka was going to be your name."

Kiba nodded and downed his drink. "Yep… That was going to be my name until they found out I was a boy. Sad, but true. I think I would have enjoyed being a girl."

"There is this one guy that can hypnotize you into believing that," Naruto reminded. "We do know his location."

"That we do." Kiba brought the drink to his lips. "That we do."

Naruto got up, finished his drink, and went to find Militia. Junior took the empty bottle and trashed it as the door to his club was opened and Tayuya walked in. She looked angry about something. Upon seeing Kiba's broken arm, her gaze drifted to the people present before receiving a sigh of annoyance from the club owner. "Let me guess. He didn't want to go get new clothes since he works with you now?" Junior nodded. Looking at Melanie, the redhead smiled and said, "There's a simple way of getting him to go shopping."

Kiba froze on the spot as the redhead grabbed his broken arm and punched the wound. Kiba hit the ground hard. Aura healing or shielding wasn't going to save him from her fury. Not right now. She laid in to him and when he was on the ground crying, she rolled him over, put her foot on his throat and said, "Obey…" as if she were commanding an animal to bend to her will. Kiba lost all his fight and looked away. She removed her foot and looked to the two. "That's how you get him to do what you want when he's being a stubborn. Get him something nice to wear."

"I _am_ the one being forced to do this," Melanie told her heatedly.

"Does that work for his nonstop screaming?" Hei asked in a tired tone. Tayuya shrugged and Melanie looked at him funny. "Here as of late I haven't been sleeping too well. This idiot sleeps for maybe twenty minutes before screaming for the next seven hours."

"That sounds like Melanie breaking in her new vibrators!" Melanie said with a laugh. The room went quiet and her eyes shot open. "I'm Melanie… Sorry. I'm drunk." She put her head on the bar and then got up. "Where the hell is my sister?" She moved to the backroom where she had last seen her go. Kiba sniffed the air and got slapped by Tayuya. Junior shook his head and Melanie screamed, drawing the other three members present to her. "What the hell are you two doing?"

Kiba pulled out his scroll and started taking pictures. Miltia had slid her dress down from her chest and her panties were dangling from her left ankle. Naruto still had his pants on and was sitting on the ground. If her dress wasn't blocking the view, it would have been clear to everyone that they were having sex. But it was still very clear they were having sex as soon as Miltia hopped up, pulled her panties back up and Naruto zipped his fly.

"…I fell down?" Miltia tried to lie her way out of it.

"And what? You landed on his penis?!"

Miltia glared at her sister. "He scratches my itch," she told her sister defiantly. Tayuya turned away and started drinking with Junior, both of which were now uninterested in the incident. "We're not dating."

"So you're just fucking with no strings attached?" Kiba asked. Naruto nodded, his hands in his pockets as he tried not to laugh at the fuming Melanie or show how hard he was to her. Miltia didn't even allow him to finish. Not like she was anywhere close to done either. There'd be tonight. Kiba wasn't staying with him for fear of getting his arm broke. "This is less interesting that the last girl you had," Kiba told him with a shake of his head. He returned to the bar and sat down beside Tayuya. Junior gave him another drink.

"He's a Faunus!" Melanie told her sister in a harsh whisper. Naruto's tail stopping wagging and became stiff. She turned on him before he could make a retort. "You're a hired gun and a Faunus. Sorry if that's wrong to you, but I don't approve of you banging my sister. What if she gets pregnant? Are you going to get an actual job and take care of her?"

"If she got pregnant from anal, I'd be surprised and vow off sex until marriage," Naruto told her. The look of horror on her face was worth the telling. Melanie looked from her sister to Naruto and then stormed out, suddenly sober and more furious with the world then she had been when she first woke up. Naruto looked back at Miltia and she shook her head. "We'll finish this another time, then." He left.

Miltia touched her butt and sighed. _It doesn't hurt nearly as bad as it did last time._

(-)

Raven waited for Naruto to walk in the door and sit down before she approached him. He didn't seemed surprised either. He was expecting her? That was something.

"I want you to run some tactical mission plans for me." Naruto blinked and walked over to the fridge. He got two sodas and tossed one her way. She didn't open it until she finished speaking. "My higher up wants to run an operation and want to know the chance of victory with our current technology."

"And you want me to figure it out?" Naruto sat back down and threw his legs up on the table. "What's the target?"

"I need to know if you're onboard for this or not before I give you any of the details." Sizing her up, the blond looked away and she smiled. "Our target is Badger." He chuckled and her smiled grew. "So you've been thinking on it, have you? I'm not surprised."

"With our current military strength, weapons and technology included, your chance of victory is less than percent. Anything you throw at it, it would most likely eat. It did eat one sunstroke missile and hasn't been seen since then. But that does lead me to believe that a successful operation could be carried out against it if we had more firepower or something with enough force to do some real damage to it."

"What if I gave you access to something that could do some real damage to it?" Naruto sat up straight and gave her his full attention. "We have in our possession someone with great abilities that could deal with it. But the problem is a lack of trust on our higher-ups. They don't think he's ready."

"Your son?"

"Yes. We want to use him in the operation. His abilities should allow us to put it down."

Naruto chewed on his lower lip. His information surrounding her adopted son was very vague. All the information was not on a computer. It was all memories in Raven's head. She never told anyone any real information on her adopted son. Naruto had spent some time with him, but not enough to know the extent of his abilities.

"That doesn't increase our odds enough for victory," he confessed. His mind was still working to come up with a way for victory over that Ancient Grimm. They could do it. He just didn't know how yet. "But why now? Do _you_ think he's strong enough to stop it?"

The masked woman took a sip from her soda. "I think he's strong enough now. But I'm not sure on how well he'd be able to follow orders. I've sent him against Grimm before, but this would be different. I think he can do this."

Naruto shut his eyes tightly and then said, "Alright. I'll give you the tactical plan and figure out if this is possible. Just give me some time to get some things in order. And when he is getting here?"

"He'll be here first thing tomorrow." She sat her soda down and summoned a portal. "I'll bring you the list of people we'll be working with and then from there, you can start coming up with a tactical plan and our chance of victory. Know that the higher-ups aren't going to like it if it's not over twenty percent." She walked through the portal and it disappeared after she stepped through.

Naruto sighed and looked at his soda. _The chance of victory with even one more person isn't going to change anything._ He retired to his computer room and watched a video. _Ray Miko… it was fun while it lasted, but now you're paying for your crimes._ Naruto sighed and printed off the inofmration he had. _James will not be pleased about this. But he hasn't found you yet._ He forwarded his findings to an email and then shut it down. _Tomorrow will be fun._


	9. Eight Percent

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A/N

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Chapter 9

"Wake up!"

Tayuya growled angrily at being awoken early in the morning to the sound of banging on her door. It wasn't enough to let her sleep in just a little bit longer, was it?

"Go away, Raven! I'm not having any of it today!"

The pounding on her door stopped and for a moment there was the feeling of satisfaction. That was quickly squashed down as a red portal opened up in front of her door. Tayuya shivered as the blacked haired woman strode in with a man her height and wear formal clothing that screamed noble to the redhead. He looked around the room as if he were measuring her worth and the rooms' worth at the same time.

"Stop sizing up my room, Jin!" Tayuya screeched before turning her seething gaze on the swordswoman. "And did I say you could enter?! I'm not even dressed yet!" Tayuya then threw off the blankets and marched towards the bathroom. "Never mind, you fucking teleporter."

Jin cleared his throat as Raven turned away from the scene at hand. She'd seen Tayuya naked plenty of times. As had most of the other staff members and teammates she had worked with over the years. Jin was no exception to this rule. "You failed to answer the door," he told her with an air of indifference.

Tayuya glanced over her shoulder at the man as she finished throwing on a shirt and looking for some pants to wear. She'd dealt with Jin before. He wasn't exactly the most subtle of people out there that she knew. The man had the air of someone that demanded perfection and hated imperfection. Despite his aged appearance he was still in his early twenties and had arisen to power in their branch of the organization that Tayuya had become a part of years ago. His ascension in their ranks was not without rumors, but no matter what anyone said, they knew it was false.

Jin had been born into the group and worked as an intelligence officer in the Mistral Naval Fleet before he was honorably discharged for a failed mission against the Grimm and White Fang in their area that cost the Mistral Government more than a few lives and over five hundred thousand lien for damages. The man had simply been played by his own spy network when word came in of an attack being mounted against a small city on the outskirts of their capital. The official word was that it was simply his information being too correct and giving their tactical forecaster a nightmare to work with. His information was right, but friendly troops were caught in the crossfire and as a result of his information, he, along with the two tactical forecasters for the operation, were given honorable discharges. Unofficially he had given them faulty information and the White Fang had played his spy network like puppets to get the troops to attack each other.

The whole thing was certainly a stain on his record and he could never show his face around any Mistral forces, but he didn't care in the end. He was now free to do what he wanted and work within the organization and its higher ups. He was their go between and served as a true tactician that would back up any findings or missions plans thought up by others after going over their information with the people he reported to. Tayuya had never laid eyes on them, but she knew that Jin wasn't his real name and whatever information he gave out was only ever the smallest grain of truth to it. The man could convince you that one plus one equaled zero if you gave him enough time.

"So what's a big shot like you doing out from under the mountain?" Tayuya asked heatedly, still miffed about being forced out of bed some ten in the morning. She checked her watch to make sure she was right about that. Early mornings were not her thing. Gave her another reason to never want to have kids. Those things were terrors.

"I have information I need to acquire today. I'm here seeing you because you're going to be my escort for the duration of the search." Tayuya shut the drawer with a loud crash as she shoved it back in hard. "Do understand that this mission will be fairly straightforward. I need only your skills for about thirty-eight seconds. Once that's done, I'll be heading back to the _mountain_ for a debriefing."

"And what kind of information are you searching for?" Jin smiled. His smile was so damn smug. Tayuya always wanted to carve it off his face. But his smile and timing was an answer that she didn't want either. She sighed and shook her head. "I know an operation is being planned against the Badger. But Atlas isn't going to have any information on it that Naruto hasn't supplied to them."

"The Badger, while a rather big concern at the moment, is nothing compared to the real target we want." He turned on his heels and nodded to Raven. She drew her sword and waited for him to give the command to portal them out. "Tayuya, don't try to skip town. I'll find you." He nodded again and Raven formed the portal. They left and the redhead swore loudly.

 _What a fan-fucking-tastic day this is going to be._

(-)

Naruto sipped on some coffee as he continued to work on a battle plan against the Ancient Grimm codenamed Badger. The plan was showing no signs of success for anything he could think up. The entire plan hinged on too many variables and not enough firepower. The thing ate more damage than it gave out, giving Naruto the impression that it was mostly built for defense and no offense. It's only offensive attack was in its EMP ability, and even then, Naruto couldn't see that as a viable attack pattern the thing could unleash. His recording of the entire fight was proof of this in how he figured out when the ability would be used. The crystals on its back were the giveaway and as such, all he'd have to do was power down whatever electronics he brought into the field.

But at that point it would be a game of back and forth with only defeat coming after so long. They simply didn't have the firepower to crack its armor enough to do any serious damage on the thing. And even if they did, the EMP ability was enough of a fear to keep even the biggest hitters down for the count. The SDC made a lot of impressive things, but EMP shielding wasn't exactly their specialty. That belonged exclusively to the Ycaruse Industry. Naruto's arm was proof of this. The shielding module in place on his arm could take the hit and keep on taking them without fear of being shut down. As a company that worked in both medical and military technology, they looked for survivability and durability over firepower. The SDC focused on firepower when it came to their military side.

So after all his planning he could only come up with a less than two percent chance of victory. And that two percent was him being nice about the whole thing. If Shikamaru was still alive and siding with him, Naruto was sure that he could come up with a plan that would make his look stupid. Shikamaru was a terribly gifted person, despite being lazy as sin. Motivate him and he was unstoppable.

Shutting down his laptop, Naruto rubbed his eyes and downed the rest of his coffee with a sour expression. _Why is it cold?_ He checked the clock and sighed. He poured this cup of coffee two hours ago. Talk about being lost in your work. He got up and grabbed another cup of coffee, finished it and cleaning out the pot in the sink before mixing in the sugar and creamer. Straight black coffee was disgusting. How anyone drank that stuff he didn't know or care to know. That would make you sick or kill you faster.

A knock at his door and he checked his watch again. _She's late,_ he thought as he marched to the door. He tore it open and blinked. Raven gave him a wide smile as she marched in with a young man probably no older than eighteen or nineteen reading a book and paying less attention to the world around him. "Raven… I didn't know you were going to be here this early." He let them in and she pushed the unknown teenage in. "Richtor," Naruto greeted. "How have you been man?" 

Richtor looked up from his book and blinked. His eyes were mismatched; his hair was a dirty brown and kept rather short. He wore dark pants and a white shirt that was currently tucked in with a brown windbreaker barely zipped up. "I'm doing fine. I'm just happy I'm not being watched by the dirty mutt that needs to be neutered."

Naruto cracked a smile at the jab to Kiba and the aforementioned notation of what needed to be done to said man. Kiba and Richtor didn't get along. In fact, it was best to keep the two separate when no one was around to guard them. This was done mostly for the safety of Richtor, as Kiba saw him as an abomination of human life. And to be honest, that's what Richtor was at his core. He _is_ an abomination of human life. The poor kid was the creation of a cult and shared a former last name with them. Naruto had never dug deep enough to uncover his last name, as it would give him the much needed answer to which cult he was sired from.

Raven glanced around cautiously before handing over a file to the blond. "The information you requested is here." She looked paler than normal. Naruto wanted to ask, but having the file was proof enough. "The data is a little off in some areas, but if this is accurate…"

"…If it's accurate then I'll adjust my time tables accordingly." Naruto glanced towards Richtor before looking back to Raven. "If what you told me is true, then the idea of their being some sort of a hive mind out in Vacuo isn't that farfetched." His eyes danced to the file and then back to her. "I'll go over the information again, but understand that what you're requesting will need to be added to the time table. I know that High Command is requesting an immediate mobilization by the end of next year, and while I'm okay with the idea of utilizing Richtor for the opening operation, they're asking a lot more from the both of us. I don't know enough about Richtor to formulate a working plan right now."

"Then consider the rest of the information and access to him open." A free pass to ask Richtor questions that didn't pertain to his wellbeing? Naruto was down for that. Raven turned to her charge and smiled. "Now, son, make sure you behave and do whatever Naruto tells you. Mommy will only be gone for a few days."

Looking up from his book, the teenage smiled and nodded. "I understand, mother. I'll obey the mischievous fox boy."

Naruto rolled his eyes as he said, "I forget about your little problem."

"No you didn't," Richtor replied quickly, his eyes blinking in response to Naruto's question. "You have repeatedly uttered that phrase to me. And with your mind, you wouldn't forget something so trivial."

And that was the reason why Kiba also wanted to kill Richtor. Whether it was the product of the procedure done to him during his creation by whatever cult that spawned him or not, Richtor spoke his mind about everything. It wasn't a form of a mental disease as multiple studies had been done on him to try the reason for his odd behavior. Since no doctor had turned up anything, they had simply stuck with the idea that his condition was simply a case of either how he came to be or his lack of any understand of social structures and communications with others. Either way, it presented itself in odd forms and had more often than not got him in to trouble with various people in the origination.

Raven sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Listen, Naruto, I know that you're busy today and that you are working on the battle plans for later this week, so I need you to promise me that you'll watch him."

"I have a meeting with James in thirty minutes," Naruto confessed tiredly. He was dreading the meeting now more than he was five minutes ago. "There's a book shop across the street from where the meeting is taking place. He'll be fine. I have a way of monitoring him when we get over there. So don't worry about it. You look pale, by the way." Sighing, she left before Naruto could dig any deeper on her problems now that he had some of his own to contend with. Naruto turned his attention to his new charge and shook his head at him. "When was the last time you went shopping for clothes?"

"I haven't been to town for clothes in a while. The mean man that was in charge of watching me wouldn't take me. Mom said that when she got the time she would take me shopping to find normal clothes for this town." He looked down at his current apparel and then to Naruto. "You changed up what you were wearing as well. Did you not like your other outfit?"

Naruto almost smiled as a fond memory of the man responsible for his original set of clothing came to mind. It was before he met his first friend after his disappearance two years ago. While Naruto was perfectly fine with what he wore now, he missed wearing the other clothing just as much. Maybe for their next operation after this one, supposing he could find a victory for them, he would switch back to wearing it. Their time tables were going to be rather screwed up with all the changes happening. Maybe he could get his friend to come down and lend a helping hand in the missions and get their time tables back on track. The man was a truly powerful Faunus.

"We can discuss that later," Naruto told him, leaving no room for further questioning. Richtor accepted it and turned expectantly to the door. "We're not leaving just yet. I still have some time before we have to go. During said time, I'd like to ask you a few questions to make things for the operation clearer."

"I understand, Fox Boy."

Naruto's left eye twitched. _Don't take him into town._

(-)

James favored punctuality. It was a military thing to him. If you were holding down a fort with only twenty rounds left and your support was supposed to show up at exactly zero eight hundred, you had better be there. He made sure that all of his students and the starter schools drilled this into their students. Tardiness was death out in the real world where lives were on the line. He wanted his students, his _soldiers_ , to understand that. So he made sure this lesson was thoroughly drilled in to each and every student that was either coming to his academy or starting out in the starter schools.

But Naruto wasn't late. James had arrived ten minutes early to finish scooping out the place for their meeting. He had other soldiers in the area to watch over him in case something bad where to happen during their meeting. With the White Fang running rampant in Vale, he wasn't going to chance a meeting without some form of support. Naruto might have been thinking the same thing unless his years missing had caused any lapse in judgment on his part, which James already knew wasn't existent as of yet. His documentation of the Grimm in Vacuo and his way of editing the footage made it very clear that his mind had not dulled in its years of dormancy.

Two members approached him as he stepped back into his car. He rolled down the window and continued looking ahead. "Report."

"We caught sight of Hawk in the area. He was with Tails and Jazz. No clue on where Lilly is." James furrowed his brow. "Crows are in the area. They're waiting for any carrion to show up."

The General nodded and rolled his window up. He checked his watch. Eight minutes until their meeting. He tapped the shoulder of the driver and motioned for him to start his runs. James had once questioned the validity of a team comprised of four different kinds of specialists, but over the course of a few months he had grown to accept what they were and what they could do as a team. Did he approve of their rowdy and awkward style of clothing for combat? No. Did they the get the job done when any assignment was thrown their way? Yes.

With an information breech still fresh in his mind, James had begun working on a series of code names for the teams while they were out of Vacuo. With security now tightly woven over the city after the failed heist at the docks a few weeks back, James had considered the idea that the dust shipments that had been stolen previously were meant for something big. Who needed that much dust for anything short of a war? No one did unless you were itching for a fight. Only as few major powers were out there that would even begin to have the fighting strength necessary to launch a full scale assault on Vale, and one of them was the unknown lady named Queen.

While currently unconfirmed, Queen had started making drastic hits on various military supply chains, dust shops and factors, and had started making bolder moves against other agencies of the world with the White Fang as her pawns. While Queen had certainly been busy in whatever goal she had for herself, the White Fang had been making increasingly more dangerous operations in the Kingdom of Vale. James had listened to his advisors on various moments during his trip on not to intervene in foreign affairs for their own protection.

But they didn't see the horror that was being set loose upon the Kingdom of Vale like he had. He knew that small towns built in a day could vanish in a second. Years of fighting the Grimm, losing territory to them and gaining it back with blood, sweet, and tears was something that he had grown so accustom to seeing. But sometimes even the slightest change of scenery could change that for him.

He saw towns burning and bodies ground into paste. It was the stuff of nightmares.

And stories were already coming in of White Fang members luring the Grimm to these locations! The White Fang attempting to control the Grimm was just unreasonably insane. The Grimm couldn't be controlled. That was impossible. Studies had proven this. While seemingly mindless, the Creatures of Grimm were not all "stupid" as some might call them. The younger Grimm had only the most basic fundamentals of knowledge, but wasn't ever child when they were born? They all learned how to walk, talk, eat, sleep, and breathe just the same. It was only as time went on and you experienced more things that you acquired the skills necessary to survive. That was why Alphas were so scary and Ancient Grimm was scarier. They amassed enough knowledge to survive because they experienced it, and learned from whatever mistakes they had made.

James checked the time and did the math in his head. "Let's get to the meeting point," he commanded. The driver took a left.

James looked out the window and sighed. Vale was always considered the more peaceful of Kingdoms when compared to the other three. Atlas had its great catastrophe a while back, but Mistral was in a state of damn near civil war and Vacuo, while currently sporting no problems with its citizens or military, was losing the battle against the Grimm in their area. More than once James had considered offering more than just military aid to them, but his advisors spoke out against it. He hated them the most when they couldn't better another nation that truly needed help. He wasn't even pleased with their lack of approval of him coming to Vale.

The car pulled around the final corner and came to a stop at the entrance to the café. James checked his watch as he opened the door and stepped out on time for their meeting. He glanced around and saw no sign of Naruto in the area. He walked out and found a table upstairs by the edge of the balcony. He didn't even raise the menu before he caught sight of the blond sitting at the table next to him. Blinking, the General got up and moved over to the table and sat down beside him.

"I was unaware you were here," James confessed.

"I got here ten minutes before you got here originally." Naruto looked up and smiled at him. A waiter stepped up with a pen and paper at the ready. "You can dispense with the act, James. I know that you have three snipers monitoring the area and that this man – Gold, I believe your codename is. – isn't needed here." The man looked questioningly towards the General before receiving a nod and allowing him to depart. Naruto scratched at his noise as he said, "You can blame the instructors for that. Sorry if I got rid of your protection detail. I know that these are trying times for everyone."

"Indeed they are." James blinked when a waitress showed up with two cups of something. Naruto took his and she sat the other one down in front of James. "You ordered for me?"

"I know what kind of tea you drink from time to time. You did visit my home a lot when I was little and still at the starter school." The Headmaster nodded, but refused the drink. Naruto shrugged and took a sip of his before putting his briefcase on the table. "I'm a fair person, James. I know you have questions. But if possible, I'd prefer you wait to ask them until I have said what I need to say to you. In this briefcase are three files. I will ask only one question of you in the end, and you can ask me four questions at the end of this that I will answer truthfully."

Naruto cracked the briefcase and pulled out the first one. He slid it over to the Headmaster and took another sip of his tea. James glanced over the file, but attention was more on the blond than the file, something Naruto obviously had picked up on. James could see this now as a power play by the blond. Naruto had few cards to play and was going to play them tactically. He knew that in a fight, James could beat him. And the three snipers that were monitoring them would also be fully capable of putting him down with little trouble. So in order to get his point across that he had cards to play, he was going to play the dominate act. He would control the conversation until the end when James could ask his questions.

James snapped the file shut after noticing a name. _Sabina… I know that last name._ "Ma'am," James said, getting a waitress's attention. "Can you bring back the man had posing as one of your own?" She nodded and departed. Opening the file again, James shook his head and then shut it. "So some from the R&D section of the SDC in the Weapons Advancement branch has got your interest. Why?"

Naruto waited until Gold returned before explaining. "Mr. Sabina is a famed weapons designer in the SDC facility in Atlas. Not only has he created dozens of new and improved rifles, but his work with bombs has been rather interesting and reached many people across the world trying to recruit him for their jobs. I know that the Ycaruse Industry has made a play for him, along with the other two competitors for weapon and armor enhancements. You get some of your armor for specialized operations out of a small company in Vacuo that's famous for creating armor stronger then steel and lighter. But the creation of said armor is rather vague and no one has been able to duplicate it. On average they can only turn out about fifty thousand units a year. Not exactly heartwarming for a military Kingdome, but it works when you can get your hands on some. But Mr. Sabina recently finished work on a new torpedo for naval ships out in Mistral."

James opened the file slowly but stopped when it dawned on him what he was getting at. The place was deserted, almost as if Naruto had bought the balcony for this one meeting. Did he have that much money?

Gritting his teeth, James shut the file and slowly pushed it to the side. "He fired it, didn't he?" Naruto nodded sadly. James shut his eyes tightly and massaged the bridge of his noise. "How could he get clearance to test fire the weapon and know the location of Levi?" Naruto gave him a moment to put it together. Like a light had gone off, James understood it then. "He got clearance from someone inside my facility."

"You won't have to look far." Naruto told him, opting to move on to the next subject at hand. He gave him enough clues for that. James would have a field day tearing through his ranks to find the person responsible. Naruto knew he who gave him access, but he wasn't after that person. His goal had only been on getting Mr. Sabina to face trial for his actions. He slid another one of the files to him and James took the time to read it. "You probably don't recognize the name. Walter Warren isn't that famous of a name because people gave him a nickname back at the starter school he attended here in Vale. You know him as the Desert Tyrant."

James finished reading the file and shook his head. "Yes!" he exclaimed. "I remember him well. Five years ago he and his team went on to win the Vytal Festival when it was hosted in Atlas. After that he started his career out in Vacuo as a famous Huntsman. He took control of another squad after he became one of the Djins, if I remember correctly."

Like the Atlas military and their Specialist, Djins were their equivalent. They were hand selected and considered to be the strongest, smartest, and fastest warriors alive in Vacuo. Their numbers were rather small, however, unlike the Specialists that Atlas had. Atlas had more Specialists than Vacuo had, but in terms of overwhelming power, the Djins had them beat.

"Well as it turns out that odd Grimm is him." James blinked and then grabbed his flask. Naruto allowed him to take a long pull from the container before continuing. "I have some friends that are a lot better at comparing photos and videos to other images. Walter took a job where he was to clear out a new settlement for Vacuo forces that would later become a new small town. He took all of his Dune Marchers and held the defense for eighteen days. On the nineteenth day they simply vanished. My friend compared the video logs I had of that odd Grimm that was standing outside of the cave and his last known photo to determine that he was in fact that odd Grimm we saw."

James started laughing. "So you think something took control of him? That's stupid."

"Is it?" That gave James pause. "On December the eighteenth, twenty years ago, you lead an assault at Fahrenheit and lost over a hundred troops to it. Now, arguably, he's not the biggest of the Ancient Grimm out there, but he has abilities. You have the video records to prove that not only is thing fast and strong, it can regenerate at an alarming pace, making it damn near un-killable. And it's smarter than any other Grimm we've ever encountered. Every year you lose eighteen people because it traps them. You bared the place off that it calls home and still it manages to pull people in and destroy them. He is the only one that truly speaks out against the theory that Grimm hunt us for food. I know you've seen it."

The Headmaster nodded. Yes, he'd seen it. Codenamed Fahrenheit for the place it lived, it was a Beowolf that was twice the size of a fully matured Alpha variant. Despite its rather bulky size, it was fast. Faster than any other Grimm he'd ever heard stories about. And it was strong. Stronger than most normal its size or in its family. A single punch could destroy one of their newer machines with the greatest of ease. Their new mechanical war suit, the Atlesian Paladin, was supposed to be sturdy enough to take a single hit from the thing and keep on fighting. But since James and a previous Headmaster had forbidden the place to anyone, it would be next to impossible to test that theory.

But _it_ was smart. James had enough video evidence to prove how smart it was. It would trick his soldiers into coming in to its territory and then kill them and eat them. James got one survivor back that told him how it tricked them into coming in with a crying woman. When they arrived they were shocked to find her trying to force them to leave. They hadn't listened and paid the ultimate price. The fact that it would take people and cripple them to make them call out for help was not something normal – No! – any Grimm would do.

"…He could be a member of one of the cults…" James wondered if he was trying to convince himself or Naruto with that one. There were stories on both accounts. Humans that worshiped the Grimm would push the envelope with their bodies and try to become like the Grimm. But there were cases of Grimm having a variety of different abilities that ranged from abnormal levels of strength for their kind or mystical abilities as some might call it.

Naruto didn't buy it and reached into his briefcase to pull out another file. "Sure… We'll go with that for the time being. But the man is clearly dead in that image. His skin had become bloated from days in the sun and his movement was consistent with someone that had been lying very still for a very long time." Sliding the last file to him, James noticed that Naruto had suddenly become more attached to their conversation and had a look of longing in his eyes. "Ray Miko, a member of the Council on your Advisor's staff, has done illegal things in the past. Though he is no longer in power, he still has enough pull to change votes and request deployment of military assists if he so wishes. While the man has never truly done anything noteworthy of being considered illegal, I feel you should know that there are those that have sought power in your council and abused it. And before you say anything," Naruto said with a wave of his hand, cutting the good General off, "I'm aware of how politics work. Do not think I'm a fool that doesn't understand them. But his crimes could have cost the lives of hundreds of soldiers. And that's something you can't allow."

James snapped the folder open as Naruto took a sip of tea. Ray hadn't done anything very illegal. True, some of the accusations were illegal, but they were nothing more than slap-on-the-wrist illegal for a politician. And while James would be hard press to lie about the pull the man had, he was aware that on a few occasions he had managed to persuade military higher ups to send soldiers to other bases, under the guise of military training, security, or as a show of force against arguing towns. These actions, while small, were noteworthy regardless. It was a sign of how much power his former council members still had without being council members any longer.

James shut the folder and for the first time took a sip of his drink. He enjoyed the taste and said, "So now it's my turn," making sure it was taken as a statement. Four questions wasn't really a lot of questions for someone that had disappeared for two years. The things Naruto might have seen were more than a few dozen questions. Right up there with where he'd been for two years, or who trained him? Naruto was good at what he did when he left, but now he was better. James could see that in him without having to see any combat footage.

"Where all did you go when you disappeared?"

Looking thoughtful, Naruto answered with, "I spent a year and half in Atlas. I was right under your noses and you never once saw me. But I did spend the last eight months going to the other three Kingdoms. I spent a greater amount of time in Vale before making my appearance."

"Who trained you?"

Now Naruto looked puzzled, almost looking as though he hadn't expected that question to come up. In a battle of wits, James left a lot to be desired, but on a good day he was better than Naruto. Naruto didn't have a truly gifted mind for talk. His mind was set up around pranks and tactical planning for operations. But even then he needed a good portion of time to come up with anything solid. James had only ever taken notice of it after the White Fang incident all those years ago.

"I know a few of these names won't mean anything to you, but a few should still ring true. I was trained by Raven Branwen, Hiroyuki Osco, Zabuza Momochi, and Jiraiya."

James's mind worked overtime to put faces to the names he was told. He knew of three of those people, but Zabuza escaped him. The fact that Raven even gave him the time of day wasn't all that surprising, but the fact that Osco even bothered to teach him anything was a big shock. The woman was very secretive and worked with a clandestine group that was borderline pure myth to even exist. The last time anyone ever laid eyes on her was well over twenty years ago now and before that she had been a prominent member of the Seven Sins, working as their handler when operating out of their home Kingdom of Mistral. But the Seven Sins were now all dead and if she still worked as their handler, James didn't know.

But it was Jiraiya that might have shocked him more. Jiraiya was once Vacuo's greatest spy master, trumping all others. The man had disappeared thirty years ago under the pretense of a long term operation in Atlas. But James had spent years trying to track the man down with no luck. Even now, Jiraiya was still at large and until a corpse was presented, men of power worked with the belief that he was still out there. Jiraiya held more sensitive secrets than anyone James knew. And his power fully backed his spy master status. Jiraiya had never lost a fight, never trained anyone, and always worked alone. If he took Naruto on as a student, even for an hour, that was impressive.

What wasn't impressive was that Naruto had actually meet the guy. Jiraiya didn't just hold great power and secrets, he held entire Kingdoms hostage with his knowledge. Step out of line and you might very well find yourself on the receiving end of more than his power and knowledge, you might find yourself on the other end of a war. His secrets could make or break alliances, destroy Kingdoms, or turn the entire world upside down.

"Why would- How did you-" James stopped himself before he screwed up. If he asked those questions he'd be done and would have wasted what little information he could gleam from this encounter. Taking a deep breathe, he nodded as a plan formed in his mind. "I'll save my last question for another time, but I will use the third one now. Why did they take an interest in you?"

"Which one?"

"All four of them."

Naruto looked away and seemed to listen to nothing as if he receiving orders from somewhere far from here. James could see a look of understanding cross his face and then he turned back to him. "Raven saw potential in my abilities to come up with tactical plans of operation when working with limited information. I have given her thirty-seven operational plans and all of succeeded in meeting their goals. Osco wanted to train me to be a better leader. She lead the Seven Sins into battle multiple times and came out on top in the most death defying fights anyone had ever seen. When the last of the Sins fell, she earned the title Warmind for her cunning mind during the Fiji Conflict. Zabuza wanted to teach me the ways of the sword, but it never took. The man is missing now, and I have no connection to him anymore. Jiraiya saw potential in me and spent the majority of his time ensuring that I was made whole again after _their_ deaths."

 _Did he share any secrets with you?_ James pursed his lips. He could find out more about Zabuza later on. But it was hard to tell if Naruto lying about his involvement with Jiraiya. The man might have slipped some information to him. Naruto was either withholding the information or Jiraiya truly hadn't told him anything. James couldn't see Jiraiya not telling his only student something. But even if he hadn't, Naruto knew what he looked like and probably how to find him. If he could find him then… James got up and smiled. "It was good talking to you. I'll look over these files when I get the chance."

Naruto nodded and did the same. "I do have a question for you. A simple one. What is Project Exodus?" For a fraction of a second, Naruto saw the man resist a stunned look. It was easy to miss and hard to find meaning in. It was still enough for Naruto to draw a conclusion from. He turned his back to him and started walking. "Forget I said anything. I saw a reference to it in one of the files about Ray and the kind of pull he had over the project. I didn't find anything else on it. I was just curious."

"Curiosity killed the cat."

"Then why isn't Tails dead?"

 _He broke the codenames?!_ James wanted to reach for his pistol and shoot him there. The Council would be thrilled, but a few others would jump down his throat. Aside from Naruto's family, Ozpin would be the worst one to jump down his throat. Why Ozpin took a liking to the boy all those years ago baffled James. If Naruto hadn't lost an arm, he was sure to get in Beacon since Ozpin had been making the greatest pull on him. But the arm issue had shut down any hope of him getting in any Academy until he was recovered.

Naruto left before James could make a move. When the blond had fully disappeared out of sight, James sat back down and rubbed his shoulder. "Silver," he said into his Scroll, receiving a greeting in return, "Can you come up here with some cuffs. I need something." A moment later Silver showed up. "Arrest Gold." He got to his feet and looked at his fellow soldier. "You didn't run when pointed you at the man who gave access to Levi for testing. Why?"

Gold felt the cold touch of metal on his wrist as he looked the General in the eyes. "I didn't know what he was planning. I thought it was meant for something else," he confessed bitterly. "I'm surprised he knew I'd be here." 

"With him," James shook his head as if he were shocked himself, "I think he plans for everything. Even if you weren't here, it wouldn't have been that much of a stretch. I'm not giving you a chance to call your father or anyone else to warn him. If he runs, he dies."

"I know, Sir." 

(-)

Richtor liked books. They doorways to other worlds, to other lives, to other cities, and on a more important note: to understanding other people.

Richtor's odd ability condition with speaking his mind had nothing to do with medical problems or a lack of education. If it was in the form _of_ education, it was only created by his lack of real friends and social interactions. There were books to help him, but still, the condition would never go away. Even after reading multiple books on the study of human interaction and how to make friends for dummies, Richtor, for the life of him, was friendless and had no social skills at all. To put it simply: He was an idiot when it came to making friends.

And one might say that was where his problem was. Despite having been forced to stay with Naruto, Tayuya, and other odd members of their group, each person handled him differently. Tayuya would never attempt to amuse him or bend to his desires, taking a strong stand against whatever he wanted in compliance with her orders. Naruto would compromise with him, work with him, to making things easier between them. Naruto saw no ill intent in whatever he wanted as long as he followed his orders should something arise.

To put it simply, Richtor favored Naruto more than any other person.

And while Naruto's actions and justification in letting him be on his own could be brought into question, Richtor knew that deep down, Naruto was smart enough to have a way to get to him should something bad happen. Naruto also had faith in his skills. More so than anyone short of his mother. Raven might have pampered him since their meeting all those years ago, but Naruto was more friend than babysitter. One might even consider their relationship to something akin to a master an apprentice. While Naruto might have never trained him to do anything, the vibe one might get from them was on the same level of their relationship.

And that careful planning that Naruto was known for was also in full affect right now. No sooner had they arrived at the book store did Richtor realize why Naruto had agreed to leave him at said place. Richtor could see the balcony of the café that Naruto was having his meeting at. Naruto could see Richtor, and to a more analytical person, he could see the human interaction and psychology section of their book collection, a place that Richtor was sure to be. And to make things even easier, it was right next to the children books that he often loved to read or have read to him.

Shutting the current book he was reading, he sighed and looked at it longingly before putting it up. He only had a limited amount of money and he wasn't going to waste it on another psychology book about making friends. Not right now. He still had one more book to finish before he'd buy another one. So, checking the balcony where Naruto was, he moved to the Children's Literature area and started looking for the book in question he'd been so happily looking for again. He skimmed across the covers until coming to the C section when someone bumped into him.

"Sorry." No reply.

Confused, he looked over and then down until he saw a young woman, probably in her early twenties, looking up at the section he was looking through. She had dark black hair pulled into twin tail hairstyle with white bows, and green eyes. She was wearing a black and white color schemed outfit that consisted of a sleeveless black blouse with white frills on the chest and collar and a black ribbon bow hanging from front of the collar. This left her midriff exposed and wore a medium-length black armband on both of her wrists. Along with the blouse, she wears a knee-length skirt fastened with a white belt and black shoes with white legwarmers.

The strange woman looked up at him and then back to the book she had been reaching for. Richtor blinked when he read the title. "Crank the Cow Dog: A Tails and Tale." He grabbed the book and flipped it over the back to read the description only to have it taken from him by the small young woman. "It was the last copy," he told her as he reached out to take it from her. Childishly, she put the book behind her back and stared at him.

Confused on what to do, he looked back to the section where he got the book and then back to her. Blinking, he reached out and snatched up the book when she turned to walk away from him. She spun around reached to take it from him but he held it above her head and started reading the back of it finally. He tilted his head and then looked down at the strange woman before lower it so that she might be able to grab it. "This is the last copy I was looking for it as well." He walked to the cashier and sat the book down in front of the old woman to pay for it. "I'd like to buy this book, ma'am."

The strange girl behind him and snatched up the book only to have it grabbed up by the woman behind the counter.

"He's buying this, little lady." She turned her attention to Richtor and said, "And do I look like a "Ma'am" to you? Do I _look_ like a "Ma'am" mister?" in a sour tone.

"Sorry, Bitch. What am I supposed to call you? You don't have to be such a cunt!" Richtor tilted his head and made it

And then the small woman looked up at him and looked torn between being annoyed and funny at the use of a females most hated word ever. The idea of someone brazenly enough to use such a word in front of a woman wasn't exactly something you ran in to every day short of said male being a comedian.

She rang up the book and demanded her money. Richtor paid for the book, seeing no fault in his words to the woman, and then looked down at the dark haired woman he had met. "I have some time left, if you want to read the book together, silent lady." She puffed her cheeks and looked back at the book in his hand before relenting to the idea of reading with him to kill some time. She wasn't needed for a few more hours.

Retreating to a small bench, Richtor began reading the book silently while the strange woman sat beside him with a scowl on her face while reading as well.

(-)

Naruto clicked his tongue as he entered the book store and found Richtor sitting next to a strange woman. Part of him wanted to take a photo for Raven's sake, but the need for secrecy prevented him from doing so. Still, it was something that Naruto found himself wanting to do regardless. This was the first time Naruto could safely say Richtor might have achieved finding a friend on his own.

"Richtor," Naruto greeted while tapping his ankle with his foot. The strange teen glanced up from his book and saw a bright flash for a split second. A moment later he saw Naruto putting away his Scroll and looking to the unknown woman. "So what's the story with her?"

The strange girl got to her feet upon seeing him and left with a visible scowl on her face. Naruto watched her go and stored her face for later use.

"She's a mute," Richtor explained. "She was nice. She wanted this book. I bought it and she didn't seem to like that. Perhaps I should have given it to her?" Naruto blinked and then turned around to start walking. "We're leaving now?"

"Yes. I'm needed back _home_ for a bit. Your mother is on her way to come get you." A smile touched his face and Naruto wondered why he only showed happiness at the prospect of meeting Raven again. It also brought out his own desires to see his mother as well. He'd kept close eyes on her ever since he disappeared two years ago. She left for a mission a few days ago, but the details on the mission were sketchy.

He could worry about her later. Right now he was more focused on presenting his plan to the higher ups of Raven's organization. If they didn't like his plan, they'd go with their own course of action. And given how well that worked for them in the past, failure was high.

(-)

"Remember your codename?" Raven asked.

Naruto nodded. "Blond," he replied dully. He hated that codename. He hated how everyone here was so superstition with names and identity. He couldn't look up their names on an actual website if he wanted to. These people were so far underground that they might as well not exist. Not having anything to your name for thirty plus years would do that to you. Plus, he didn't like the name simply because it made him feel like he had a target on his back. If something went wrong, it wouldn't be that hard to point him out.

Fixing him with a hard stare, Raven gave up on trying to understand his tone and pushed the doors open for him. Naruto stepped into the dimly lit room with a scowl on his face. They knew that his vision was just as good in the dark as it was in the daylight with his Faunus blood, so why bother? Still, the old folks here like to keep some form of secrecy over these meetings and this was about as far as they were willing to push the envelope when it came to showing face at such an event. Even knowing that he could see their faces, they took a small amount of pleasure in knowing that he didn't know their real names.

"Blond," an old woman snapped, alerting him to the start of the meeting. "You're plan of attack against Badger is rather… unorthodox. Explain."

Standing in the center of the room, Naruto looked her over and read her tag. "As you wish, Spice." A grunt of annoyance escaped her as she peered to her left where an older male with a tag that read Kardon on his chest sat. "My operation against the Badger is to use eighteen fighters, myself included, for this operation. We will also need the prototype Osmian rifles from Ycaruse Industry, fifty SDC Atlesian Sentries, and six Black Prowlers with a minimum of three hours of power after operation starts at sixteen hundred."

"Yes," Kardon hissed, unhappy as well with the situation. "We saw the list. What you're asking for is rather difficult to procure, but we can manage. However, we are aware of the Badgers' EMP ability and were worried about why you would want to bring machines to the battlefield that would be hindered by this ability. Your plan for them is a little… unappealing to say the least."

"I have to agree," another old man replied. Naruto read the nametag. His name was Samuel. "You're asking a great deal from these machines and one person that will work to keep them active ever after suffering an EMP. You're plan states that you will simply shut them down before the EMP can go off and reboot them just as quickly to commence attack again. With no information on the range of said ability or how fast the enemy can use it, you're putting a great deal of faith in the person holding the switch and theses machines."

"But they would be equipped with a faraday cage to prevent further damage upon shutdown and reactivation." Samuel surmised. Naruto almost smiled. "You would still be putting the operator under extreme risk, regardless."

"But I see why he'd request them," Kardon confessed. "If a machine were to die, it is of little concern to us or anyone that it is reduced to ash. Simply put, a machine is a tool meant for destruction and nothing more in this plan. He will use them as bait to fight the Grimm we know is there while his forces attack from affair with their weapons. However," he adjusted his glasses and raised the list, "you wish to take two of close range fighters with them and have them fight alongside these machines. I'm curious as to why you would request such a thing."

"They're skilled at hand-to-hand combat and I've worked with both of them personally. I know that they are more than capable of carrying out my plan in this situation for their roles. Furthermore, both have a natural high aura, allowing them to survive attacks that would cripple even a normal Huntsman at their age." Naruto grinned when he saw the small smile pulling at Kardon's lips. "But the idea I'm using for the machines is to serve as both a distraction a buffer for those behind them. The two fighters I'll be using will also have me there as well. Their skills are very well needed for this operation to succeed."

"And what is the percentage of victory in this plan of yours?" Spice asked.

"Eight percent." Spice and Kardon looked furious with his percentage. "Keep in mind that a good number-"

"You needn't explain," Samuel cut in, his eyes darkening. "I'm aware of our past dealings with the Ancient Grimm. At our current fighting force, we have little chance of victory, but you would make this number sound bigger than it is. For that… I will allow this operation to go forward. In three weeks we will have the people you requested and the armament as well. If you bring us victory, there is a high reward for doing so. But defeat will cost you more than your life. You would wish for death at its hands, Tactician. We aren't just giving you our greatest weapon without a price. Understand that we will pull it out if we feel the situation is unfavorable."

The lights went out and Naruto watched them retreat to a small door in the back with red and yellow and blue lights flickering. He turned towards his own door and departed.

(-)

The moment James entered Ozpin's office, the Headmaster of Beacon could feel the wrong in the air. Glynda took not notice of it as she continued her dutiful task of grading papers from her Scroll before his arrival and waiting for him to leave so she could continue her discussion with Ozpin about how team RWBY's member, Blake, was acting now after the fight at the dock.

"How did you meeting with Naruto go, General?" Ozpin started off while taking a sip of his coffee. Naruto was standing behind him and he had no new information to say that he had boarded one of James's vessels for transport, so he was still in Vale and still out of his hands for the time being.

"It went better than expected," James answered with a ghost of a smile. He hadn't gotten him to change his mind and Naruto held control of the entire conversation. That alone was troubling enough, but he still held hope that he could pull him to his side for future use. Naruto wasn't showing favoritism in Ozpin, at least not from his point of view. So he still had a shot at bringing him home without cuffs being needed. "But he knew something I didn't expect him to know."

"And what was that?"

"He knows something about Exodus."

Ozpin blinked twice, showing confusion on the subject before realization hit him hard. Glynda was paying attention to Ozpin, and upon seeing his reaction and hearing what was said, it got her interested enough to power down her Scroll and give the good General her undivided attention. "And what is Project Exodus?" she asked in a tone that demanded answers without question.

"It isn't a project," Ozpin confessed sadly. "It was a little girl. That was the codename used for her."

"But she's dead now. She died a long time ago." James took a deep breath and then returned to normal. "But he was trained by some very interesting people, one of which is now going to be further confirmed to be alive." He waited until Ozpin sat his drink down and laced his fingers together. It was might as well had been his thinking pose when sitting in the chair. The man had a stern look on his face as James continued. "Aside from being trained by Raven and Haruyuki Osco, he receiving training of some sort from Zabuza Momochi, the Demon Butcher, and Jiraiya."

If Ozpin was shocked, he didn't show it. Glynda was a different matter. She dropped her Scroll and looked ready to fall as she braced herself against Ozpin's desk from the two names. James hadn't been aware of who Zabuza was until he looked up the name. Learning that Naruto might have learned something from this man was terrifying. He brought about great change to Mistral in its eighth conflict with Vale seventeen years ago and since then had been hiding. He was one of Mistrals' greatest Huntsmen and a former member of the Seven Sins. It was proof to all three the Seven Sins might still be active and carrying out suicidal operations for Mistral that their government could deny without problem.

But Jiraiya training Naruto was the real pincher. If Naruto learned any of their secrets from Jiraiya, it would make him extremely deadly as a warrior and as a politician. He could literally be holding the world hostage with the information he might know. The thought of that much power in the hands of someone that was about to be twenty years old was very frightening. Even worse, it might be in the hands of Naruto, someone who had a grudge against politicians in Atlas.

"Is it possible he knows what Exodus was?" Ozpin asked tiredly.

Glynda saw both men, terrible men of power, look suddenly very fragile. It was as if they had both had their souls ripped from their bodies. Only the death of someone close could pull this from these two men. Exodus must have been someone of great importance to both of them. But whatever it was, she was clearly now dead, if James were to be believed.

"I don't know. But Ray Miko knew of it as well. So I'll be launching an investigation into the matter personally. If he had any more information on her, I need to know it and then we can make a plan to move against Naruto if he knows more." James looked to his fleet of ships in the distance. Ozpin kept his gaze firmly on his drink. "She could have been the greatest weapon we ever had if she had lived."

"Or the most terrifying," Ozpin countered. He got to his feet and suddenly was right as rain. "I have a meeting to attend to with the new students. I'm sure you have one as well with your students." James nodded and Glynda watched him leave with a scowl on her face. Her Scroll was handed to her and she hadn't remembered seeing Ozpin grab it to hand it to her. "Glynda, I know I've shared a lot of information with you in the past, but Exodus is not something we wish to talk about. Ever. So never bring it up with us."

"Understood."

Ozpin nodded like he was accepting her answer and then walked to the door. She followed and left with him. _If Exodus is a person… Who was it?_


	10. Human, Faunus or

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A/N

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Chapter 10

 **SEVENTEEN YEARS AGO**

Raven stared out into the open sea with a forlorn look on her face. She shouldn't be here. She knew that and she came anyways. She had a daughter back home she had to take care of, but when the job was given to her, she decided to take it and leave Tai alone with their daughter for the week. It wasn't that she liked the idea of leaving her one year old in the loving arms of her husband, but given how protective he was of her she feared for her daughters' safety in the foreseeable future. It wasn't that it was a bad thing; it was just that Tai might forget that when Yang would grow up, she'd take an interest in _someone_ that he might not like. Not that that was going to happen anytime soon or that this mission was going to be her last.

"Stupid Qrow! That jerk!"

Raven snickered as she turned around to find her teammate, one Summer Rose. She was hunched over in the small chair with a visible scowl on her face that might have looked threatening to anyone that knew her, but for those that didn't it made her look super cute. It was just hard to see a scowl on her face when she was angry. Furious was another thing. That she could do and scare the soul right out of your body if she became angry. But her displeasure towards Raven's brother was understandable. After all, the idiot wasn't coming with them and had recently been seen with another woman, meaning Rose was none too happy with him.

"You know," Raven said, sitting down beside her fellow female, "if you simply sit down with him, grab his shoulders, and then bash your head against his, he'll understand that you like him."

"It's not about that!" She fired back, waving her hands around in a child-like manner. Raven giggled and gave her a good natured slap on the back. Rose sighed and looked out the opening of the Bullhead to the ocean. "He came to use with this operation and told us to look in on it. Ozpin even asked for us to take a gander at. I can't help but feel this is a setup."

Yes, Raven would agree that the whole thing felt off. The growing tension between all four Kingdoms again, things had started to get a little shaky in various parts of the world. Ozpin might have requested this operation, but Vacuo still had to green light it for them to even get a chance to head out and complete their investigation. This was stranger when one considered the very nature of their destination.

Vacuo might not have the most glamorized islands, but they had enough that could rake in a couple million lien a year when compared to the bigger named islands that Mistral had. But the island they were going to was a hotspot for Grimm activity. The entire island was their home and over the last forty-eight hours there had been over two hundred confirmed sightings of evacuating Grimm. They weren't mounting an attack either. They were fleeing something. If Vacuo launched a new weapon, Vale wanted to know about it. And they wanted to know where all the Grimm were heading. Eight other vessels were monitoring the Grimm that had left the island, but that still left the cause for their evacuation unknown. Vacuo wasn't going to send any of their soldiers or Huntsmen to that location. So when Vale stepped up to the plate, they were more than happy to send them in.

Despite the fact that Qrow had been the one to pull the information out of some of the military figures in Vacuo, he wasn't going on the operation because another mystery had surfaced closer to home that he was now being ordered to look on. Rumors were spreading about a man with future sight being close to death. Why Ozpin was sending Qrow there was a complete mystery, as both women felt having Qrow around would help bolster their strength and give anyone they might face pause to challenge them. While not the best team for their generation, they were feared like all the others. No one had a higher kill count that Qrow, and the only other person disarming enough to get in close and stab you in the back was Rose. Raven's teleporting ability made her a hassle, but if all three of them were out in the field, anyone would be hard press to challenge them or consider attacking them.

" _We're thirty seconds out! We'll swing back in two hours. By then, I hope you're done. Because we're not coming back unless ordered to."_ The voice of the pilot came over their headsets and Raven felt like strangling the bastard. The Bullhead shifted and spun as a sea of greenery came into existence. _"Remember! Two hours! No more! No less!"_

"We got it!" Raven hissed as she jumped out and landed on the ground with a thud. A moment later Rose landed, but her landing was whisper quiet. _Is that why Qrow fancies her?_ Raven pushed the thought away and grabbed the hilt of her sword. Rose looked around in awe. The place was rather beautiful, despite it teaming with large carnivores and Grimm that would eat them without a second thought. "Stay on your guard. I don't like the idea of us being here more than two hours." 

"I don't like the idea of being here, period!" Rose replied in a harsh whisper. Once this was over she was finding Qrow and backhanding him for this. He was _so_ being thrown outside for the night for this little job that he found and got no part of.

They stuck to the shadows of the trees as they start their venture to the heart of the island. They wasted thirty minutes cutting through the forest and evading Grimm that scampered by them in a rush to get away from something. When the forest started to thin out, Raven spied a large house that was two stories tall and might as well be a mansion for how big it was. But the thing was old, near abandoned looking. Windows had been blown out and trees had collapsed through sections of the house. The roof sported a large hole where something had busted out of it.

A growl sounded from the shadows and the two came to a dead stop. A shadow of movement caught their eyes and they saw red eyes shine brightly from within the house. Raven's hand tightened on the hilt of her sword. The eyes turned away and disappeared into the home. A few short seconds later a scream sounded and the sighed.

Touching Rose's shoulder, the two shared a knowing nod and slowly ventured in to the abandoned home.

The front door was kicked in, reduced to splinters by the Grimm that had entered. What Mother Nature and time had done to the outside was worse on the inside. The floor had holes in the floor that aligned perfectly with the ceiling above them. Blood stains that had hardened coated the floors and walls where paint had been weathered away. To their right was a flight of stairs that led up to the next floor. The railing had been ripped away, leaving small pegs as a testament to its former life.

They ignored the stairs in favor of a pristine door, untouched by time and weather. Raven lead the way down a flight of stairs that ended in a basement lined with books and notes to the left and right of them. At the back wall a large book lay closed and resting on an old table covered by dust. Raven released her grip on her sword and withdrew a small flashlight from her pouch as they approached the book. Rose turned to the other books and started looking through them.

"…Cult of the Worm…" Raven read aloud. Rose turned her head just enough to glance at her teammate as she opened the book and started skim reading. "This is one of those fanatic cults that worship the Grimm. But," she looked around, shinning the light to the darker areas to see if there were traps, "where are they?"

"Maybe they evacuated with the Grimm," Rose provided. She grabbed one of the books and shook her head. "These are just bibles and stuff on the study of Grimm." She flipped through the pages and shook her head. "It's their study. This whole place is a library dedicated to their study. If Vale could get their hands on this…"

"..If anyone got their hands on this, it would make fighting the Grimm a lot easier." Raven flipped through the pages stopped to read from it. "She is dying now. Our study of the effects has given us much to think on. But the birthing was a success. In a few hours she will die and be one with the Grimm." The dark haired beauty flipped through the book until she got to another entry. "He feasts now, happy and content with the world around him. Though his food stands against what we represent, we give him what he requires."

Rose pulled another book free and started flipping through it. "…This book contains records of failed experiments to merge with the Grimm. They report having done multiple different methods, but none worked out. Whatever they were working on wasn't completed. It looks like they tried again, but this book isn't completed."

"So they made an abomination? …Great…"

A thunderous roar echoed above them. They snapped their collective books shut and put them in their supply packs for later study before making their way up stairs, weapons in hand. Raven entered first, her blade black as night to mask their approach. A quick shadow darted out of the corner of her eye and she saw it disappear upstairs. She killed the light and slowly crept up to follow with Rose walking backwards up the stairs in case of a pincher attack. They reached the top floor and found clothes lying all over the floor.

In perfect outlines.

Like they were white outlines to dead bodies.

Raven checked the clothes as Rose got up behind her and looked around the dark room that was the second floor of the house. This area was near pristine with the exception of a few small signs of battle where claw marks had torn walls apart and blown out windows as proof of something more. Checking over each of the outfits that stand as proof of human life, Raven stands up and looks down the hallway, lined with doors to other rooms, where another flight of stairs leading upwards to the next floor. Checking the time, she walks to the first room and pushed the door open.

Rose follows and looks around with her. The room was destroyed by time and a hole in the side of the wall where the remains of a window frame lay clinging to its last nail to stay in the wall. The remains of a bed, table, and a chair are scattered amongst the torn up floor. In the bed, like the room outside, lay an outline of clothes to someone that might have been a child. Leaving, both females check each room, finding them all in similar status with the same mysterious sets of clothes serving as outlines to dead bodies.

Rose checks the time and looks at Raven with a worried look. "We're running out of time," she told her.

"I know." A pained scream sounds above them and the two look up, coming eye to eye with a Grimm. Weapons were drawn instantly but the creature was yanked away by an unseen force before they could attack it. The sound of crunching bones and ripping flesh sounded not soon after and the two females gave each other a knowing look as they rushed out of the room and upstairs. They found more clothes similar to the other one and a partially decomposed body propped against a wall. Only a small amount of flesh remained on the body as they approached it. "No way this was the Grimm's doing."

"What makes you say that?"

Raven pointed to the lack of claw marks. "This person died here, but the clothing and body show no signs of a struggle." The skull fell to dust and slowly the realized the skin that had once been stuck to the side of the face was no gone and small black and white insects ate hungrily at the side of its face, eating through the bone. They jumped back and watched as the thing vanished right before their eyes. The small insects vanished into the darkness and only the sound of heavy breathing could be heart on the final floor above them. "What did they make here?"

Rose pulled out the book, making sure to keep one hand on her weapon as she pilfered through it in a rush to find the final entry. "Subject was born normally. Mother died upon birth. Umm…" she furiously flipped through the pages. "…He shows signs of increased hunger. We lost two members today out on his hunt." She read the date. "This was two years ago. But the first entry on this was six years ago. So a six year old might still be here."

"Living on its own?! What kind of child…" She was cut off with a gut-wrenching scream echoed through the house above them. They rushed to the next floor and found two boys, one with an afro styled hair being consumed by the bugs, the other probably no older the six, sitting in the center of the room in the lotus style staring ahead as if waiting for something. The bugs that were consuming him halted what they were doing as Raven switched her blade to its red form and smacked it against the ground, lightning it on fire as she approached the insects. The boy was dead with a peaceful look on his face, the other was holding a pair of sunglasses. The bugs scattered and fled for the safety of the only room on the top floor. Raven checked him over and shook her head as she checked the body of the older child. "He's dead…"

Rose looked on sadly as she looked the boy over. "He's got to be no older than seven… maybe eight. What kind of place could allow this?" Rose turned attention to the boy that was holding the sunglasses. "Who are you? Where are your parents?" Rose asked.

"Gone."

"Where'd they go?"

"They died."

 _He's cheerful about that…_ Raven noted. She moved in front of Rose and knelt down in front of the boy. Her scroll beeped and she swore in the back of her mind. _Time's almost up._ "Do you want to leave this place? I can take you out of here."

"Will you feed me?"

"Are you hungry?"

"Not right now."

"I can give you whatever kind of food you want when we get back to the city, how 'bout that?" He got up and looked at her funny, holding a pair of sunglasses in his left hand. "Where'd those come from?"

"My brother, Shino, used to wear them. He gave them to me. Said they'd make me strong."

"Where is he now?"

"Dead." He pointed to the former spot where the corpse had been

"Raven, we should leave now."

"Right…" Raven reached out and took his hand. "And what's your name?"

"Richtor Aburame…"

Raven smiled and scooped him up. She gave the darkness of the room one last look before leaving to find a pair of red staring out at her from the safety of its shroud. _Did it lead me here?_ She turned away from the Grimm, satisfied with the knowledge and belief that perhaps it didn't want to pick a fight with her, or perhaps, the child.

 **PRESENT DAY**

Miltia stared at the two young men as they sat at the counter, Naruto eating a bowl of Ramen, and Richtor munching on some fries. Both had scuff marks as a sign of a battle of sorts, but Naruto appeared to be the one to sport more, as Richtor was hardly injured.

"Thanks for treating me to a meal," Richtor said with a beaming smile. Junior rolled his eyes and returned his attention to his new bouncer, Kiba, as the Inuzuka continued to snarl in their general direction. "Why does the mutt that needs to be neutered act like he hates me? It's always bothered me when the redheaded terrible musician tolerates me."

Kiba began muttering under his breath and faraway that no one could hear him while Naruto tried to think of a way to answer that question. Sadly, he couldn't come up with anything that Richtor might understand or do since he called people how he saw them. He had a pretty good track record of making fun of people without realizing it or knowing what was social acceptable and what wasn't. Sadly, this was a time in which he didn't know what to say and what not to say, as the redhead terrible musician was sitting right next to him, scarfing down a cheeseburger and some fries.

"I tolerate you because I ignore you in favor of the music I play in my head," Tayuya told him angrily.

"Does your playing sound better in your head then when you play for real?"

Tayuya's face was the look of murder, but she punched down those feeling of slaughter in favor of taking another bite out of her burger and then chugging the remains of her beverage. Once she had finished downing her beverage, her gaze was drawn to the form of Miltia as the young woman stared at the odd teen and his fascination with his fries before eating them.

"So where are you from?" Miltia asked, finally having let the odd teen get to her. He hadn't spoken to her directly, but with Kiba's displeasure and his way of talking about Tayuya and Kiba made it very clear that he wasn't all there in the head. Maybe there was a reason for that. There wasn't really any indication as to where he came from with the way they talked about him. In fact, they had never spoke about him directly other than when he first showed up a month ago. The only other time anyone was mentioned to be joining their little group was when they had their talk at Naruto's place after he got a phone call from Scarlet and that… Miltia paused and gave him a funny look.

"The answer is yes," Naruto said, sounding random to Junior, but answering Miltia and Melanie's next question. "Leave it at that."

The long haired twin snorted and walked away, stomping as she made her way to the bathroom. Richtor watched her disappear before his gaze fell on Junior. "Why does she act like that, Cool Guy?"

Junior arched a brow at the label given to him by the strange teen but answered with, "She doesn't like new people all that much," as though he was sure of his own answer. He wasn't. He didn't know what they were talking about and to be fair, he didn't really care. What he did care about was how there was no information on Richtor that he could find. Whatever question Naruto had answered had pretty much summed up an entire row of questions that he was now no longer privy too. In the long run he decided that it was for the best and to leave it at that. "So word has it you're taking another job soon for Scarlet Schnee again. Any reason on why?"

"She's hiring us to do a little research on something," Naruto told him quietly. His eyes panned over to Richtor as the teen started looking around the room and then to the twins. "Did Roman come here to do what I asked of him?"

The information broker snorted in disgust. "No. But the next time you lay eyes on him, can you kill him for me. I don't want my information to get out to the public. I rather like keeping what's mine with me." His gaze swung to Kiba as the new bouncer roughed up another one of Junior's thugs for saying something. "Kiba! Pick a fight again, and I'll fire you on the spot."

"Then hire less racists and bigots," he snapped back, unhappy with the man on the ground. He stepped on his chest and returned to the door. It was almost time for the customers to start showing up. _I wonder how the operation is going…_

(-)

Flower and Falcon surfaced out of the water and climbed on to the surface of an underground cave. Flower had long since gotten use to the idea of being dragged away from her team, but this was pushing boundaries she feared to cross. She was supposed to be Vale, making a stand for her Kingdom and Academy by taking jobs that was offered to Beacon to show off her Kingdom's potential. But she was here, swimming for an hour to get to an underground cave nearly six hundred feet under the ocean floor. She wasn't happy about it. Her partner wasn't happy either.

She pulled out a rifle and checked it over before slapping a magazine home and loading one in the chamber. Falcon did the same.

The organization, jokingly refered to as Peace Keeper, had a greater reach and knowledge of the world than what she had been aware of upon her enlistment a year ago. They needed to work on their sales when it came to hiring new people. Though, their methods for getting what they wanted could be considered troublesome, it worked. She was here now, armed to the teeth with Ycaruse Industries latest battle armor and weapons. It was better than what she normally used. She wasn't going to be able to do much in the Vytal Festival with her usual stuff because it was older than this stuff.

Peace Keeper was broken down in multiple branches that carried out several things. Only a few people could truly have desk jobs and those went to people of great power. The rest were field agents recruited for various tasks. Like the one the two of them were. They were on the hunt for Badger, the Ancient Grimm that had surfaced at Distant Haven. Months of planning and looking had nearly been washed down the drain until a submarine caught an odd ping and checked it out. If they didn't have field agents on that sub there was no way they could have gotten this lead as early as they did. Finding information on the Ancient Grimm was hard until about fifteen years ago, or at least that's what some of the older agents said.

Furrowing her brow, she watched as Falcon adjusted his sights on his rifle and then gave her a nod.

Cover names were always used. The agency was terrified of their members finding out their names, but they still requested so many strange things of them. Their helmets were equipped with voice synthesizers to make them sound different, but before the operation they were given a choker that vibrated and distorted their voices even more. On the one hand, she could understand why this was done. Anyone with enough computing skills could crack a voice synthesizer. But if you layer it with two, it would make it almost impossible. This, and the codenames, was done in order to prevent agent information from being leaked if anyone was listening in on their comms.

Moving up, the duo switched to night vision on their helmets as they moved further in towards the darkness.

Flower inhaled deeply through the oxygen mask and could still taste the stench of death that hung in the air. This was the last place either of them wanted to be, but they had a job to do. Suicidal as it was, this was better than any other operation that they had taken so far. She shuddered when she thought back to her initiation test. How many bodies were put down that night? She hadn't bothered to get the number, but she knew she could simply ask and the information would be provided. Who requests that you kill a running Politian as a means to join a secretive group that acts with authority from any other Kingdom? That's just absurd.

"Eyes up." Flower's head jerked to the sound of Falcons' voice as he motioned ahead where a light was shown brightly from around a corner. Weapons up, they moved slowly towards the light and shutoff their night vision feature as they stepped into the light. "…Not good…"

Flower blinked and sighed. She tapped on her comm system. "Target found," she reported.

" _Is the target aware of your presence?"_ A female voice, garbled through two layers of voice synthesizers, asked.

The Ancient Grimm, codenamed Badger, opened an eye and stared at them. The red light from its eye was piercing. It opened its maw and then shut it as it went back to sleeping. It rested in a large hole, most likely dug out years ago by other Grimm and now serving as a home for the creature and those that were its strongest guards.

"Yes…"

" _Leave… We have what we need."_

"Copy that." Falcon looked to Flower and slowly began to back up with his weapon scanning each of the approaching Grimm. "Run for it?" he asked.

"…No… They're letting us leave." She backed up with her weapon drawn regardless. She wasn't going to take any chances with these Grimm. They were being too passive. Almost as though they were really going to let them go and warn the world about them. That didn't sound right, since these types of Grimm were supposed to be smart and know that if they left they'd come back with more forces to attack them. Or had their arrogance clouded their judgment?

They switched back to night vision and made a run towards their entry point once they were back in the darkness. A mile swim later and they were back on their boat with scowls on their faces. "Something isn't right here," Falcon said as he removed his helmet. "Why did they let us leave?"

Flower glanced over at her temporary teammate and considered his question for a good minute as she took in his features. He had long black hair, white eyes, and an odd marking/tattoo on the center of his forehead. He scratched at his hair before pulling out a rubber band and tying it back in a ponytail.

"I have no idea," she confessed. She yanked off her helmet and sat it down on the bench provided for them. She pulled out an eye patch and covered up her left eye. Falcon snorted. "I lost it years ago. Shot my eye out," she told him when she caught him staring. He rolled his eyes and shut his locker after grabbing a towel. "They only have one shower on this dump," she told him as she got up and grabbed her towel.

"I'm seeing someone."

"So am I."

(-)

Ozpin inhaled deeply as hung up his scroll and sat it down with a sigh of regret. The Atlas Council was pressing for more information on Naruto and their desire to have turned over. Knowing that he was in Vale wasn't the problem. Explaining away why he hadn't turned him over was the real hard thing. How would one turn over someone that wasn't doing anything illegal short of maybe drinking underage or disappearing on operation meant for _actual_ Huntsmen? Atlas wouldn't appreciate him using Naruto's skills, but with the state the world was in, Ozpin wasn't truly going to listen to a bunch of pencil pushers on the other side of the world. Not when the real threat was right here in Vale and moving about without problem.

His Scroll beeped. Curious, he picked up and saw the face of a young woman with pink hair, tanned skin, and a hair clip holding some bangs out of the left side of her face. Sighing, he answered the call with a warm, "Hello," as Glynda walked in with James behind, both talking heatedly about something he didn't care to listen in on.

" _Hey, Professor O!"_

"I haven't been called that in a few hours," he confessed with a light laugh. She giggled on the other end of the line. "So what can I do for you at this hour of the night? I'm sure this isn't just a friendly call to let me know about their status, now is it?"

" _Not really. I figured I'd let you know that we're coming to Vale for a visit. Well… I'm coming to play peace keeper, but she's going to try and reason with him."_

Ozpin's eyes narrowed and he sat the scroll down and activated the Speaker. This was as good a time as any for James to know more. He already knew about _them_. Now it was time to know about the rest of _them_ that were out there. How many more surprises did he have for this poor man? Hopefully he had a few more before things were really desperate.

"You're on speaker, Fuu."

" _Why would you put me on speaker?"_ There was a small conversation in the background that neither adult could hear before the strange woman came back. _"Listen, the other two are okay. But this isn't about them. This is about_ him _. You said to give you time and with what happened to…"_

"I'm aware of what happened and I've been slowly working on getting him to agree to another meeting." He cut her off and licked his lips. "You do realize how delicate of an operation this is. If you rush into this, you could ruin everything."

" _We're running out of time. Two of us have disappeared completely, along with…"_

"Fuu… I know about the situation. Now please listen to me when I tell you that I need more time."

" _We're out of time. We're already on our way. We'll be there in a week."_

The line went dead and Ozpin shut his eyes. He could work his magic in a week. He knew he could. He just had to speak to him again and try to get him to listen to reason. He ran away from it once. But now that there was no other choice, it was stand and fight or give up.

"So what was that about?" James asked.

Smiling, Ozpin tapped on his desk and a hologram came to life. "You know about the Maidens. Now let me tell you about their Guardians. The people that came together to protect them and start our foundation."

(-)

"We have its location already?"

Naruto shut his eyes and sighed. Of course they had its location already. Why wouldn't they? It wasn't like this was the weakest known Ancient Grimm. The Dragon was the weakest as far as anyone was concerned, but the difference here being that the Dragon was in eye sight of hundreds of thousands of people and a man more mysterious than the Immortal Man in their organization. Naruto couldn't say he was pleased to hear this now, but why did she have to call him right now of all times?

Deciding to hang up before Scarlett could say anything else, he turned his attention back to the original problem he was forced to deal with. One that he didn't want to deal with at all, personally, but life seemed to just love messing with him. It wasn't even his fault to begin with. Raven asked him to do one small favor for Richtor, something Naruto was more than happy to do at the cost of some information from said woman.

"Are you done in there?" Naruto asked for the third time. This wasn't how he wanted to spend his entire day. Knowing that the operation was about to take place in a few weeks, there were a few things Naruto needed to get wrapped up before the start of the operation. Namely he had to contact a friend and see about getting his assistance with a few other problems and then there was the major problem he was now facing.

"Almost!" Richtor called back, unhappy as he continued to change out of his new and back into his old clothes.

Nodding as though Richtor could see him, Naruto turned his attention to Melanie as she looked over a new dress with narrowed eyes. Naruto had no sense for fashion and since Junior's Club was a shirt and tie kind of place, Richtor, if he wanted to continue coming over with Naruto had to get clothes to match. To Naruto's best thought he had never heard of a time when Richtor had worn a suit. Though their time together was usually very short and Naruto never asked about him, he always got the vibe that Richtor was a person that didn't want to wear such clothing.

Too bad.

Naruto wasn't about to lose his place of business all because Richtor hated suits. If he cleaned up more often he might get a girl. Also, if he got out from under the mountain, he'd get girls since no girl in the organization wanted anything to do with him. Not for a lack of trying on his part. He just didn't understand social cues.

"So," Melanie walked over to Naruto, rocking back and forth on her feet, "I hear you're about to take another operation. How did you get roped into this one?"

Instead of looking at her, Naruto looked outside to city streets. Banners were already put up, and what few stores didn't have the money for them or the taste for them were putting up other decorations for the festival that was about to be getting kicked off in a few months. Students from all over were already showing up. "It was part of the other operation I went on. The one that took me to Vacuo is a signed contract for this." He felt something soft wrap around his waist. "You're affectionate today. What gives?"

"I have an itch that I haven't been able to scratch since Richtor showed up."

"I have to watch him. He's also part of that arrangement."

"No he's not." Naruto could feel her head press against his back. He turned his gaze to an young couple walking hand in hand down the street. They were admiring the scenery and laughing alongside children that ran past mock fighting. "Why are you so stubborn these days? You used to take jobs for Junior, spend time at the club. But now you're always gone, like you don't want to be there anymore. Why?"

 _Because I'm a slave being sent out to bring victory when defeat is all that they can manage._ He wouldn't dare tell her that. How could he? That was how they got him. They roped him in with the believe that he had could make things better in his life. That his life would finally have closure and he could be what he was meant to be. A Specialist of the Atlas Military, just like his father. But their promises, though empty right now, were nothing but lies and candy for those that sought an solution to their life and a way out of their own darkness. The world was just as corrupted as it was dark. Nothing he could do or say would make things better anymore.

Tearing his gaze away from the happy couple, he spun around and put on a smile she didn't see through as he said, "Well… if you're that itchy, I can have Tayuya watch him for the night."

"Why not Kiba? Tayuya is away right now. She had to go somewhere with some guy in a suit. I think he said his name was Jin."

 _So he's here too. Why would they bring him here? Does that mean I won't get Falcon and Flower for the operation? No… They were sent out to find it. But…_ He shut his eyes and looked to the ceiling to stall for time. He pinched the bridge of his nose and said, "He'll kill him. Kiba can't be trusted with him. The man might fight with me, but he does hat Richtor. Not because of who he is, but what he is. I know you know I'm talking about." She looked away from his let him go. "If you want, come over tonight. I won't force you to do anything you don't want."

Melanie smiled and accepted his offer. Richtor walked out back in his old clothes as he tossed them to Naruto. "Why does the girl without panties have to be here?" Melanie gave the strange teen a withering glare as he ratted her out again for not wearing any under garments for the day. Laundry day was last week and with everything that had been happening at the club and across town; neither girl had made an attempt to get the most basic of clothing washed. And when they had finally gotten their laundry done, someone had stolen, or the machine had simply eaten, most of their panties. Miltia was even out a few pairs of jeans as a result.

"Thank you for the bitter reminder," she hissed as her gaze traveled up to Naruto expecting him to have a few choice words with the teen. Naruto shrugged when he noticed she was waiting for him to do or say something. After realizing that nothing was going to be done, she turned and stormed over to the door, shoving it open and sitting on a nearby bench, unhappily waiting for them to finish up.

Naruto lead Richtor to the counter where the teen paid for his new clothes and met Melanie outside to continue their shopping trip. Melanie stayed on the other side of her friend as they walked down the man line towards another clothing shop. Naruto entered first and the other two followed after him. Naruto hadn't put more than two steps in the store before he felt a tingle in the back of his mind warning him of something terrible. That was one second too late and a speeding blur crashing into him, knocking him down to his knees.

"Sorry," he said, taking responsibility for something he hadn't done. "I shouldn't have been standing in… the… door. Coco?"

"Naru?" His face fell and the woman smiled. "Oh my… it's been… what, four years?" Coco helped him up and dusted his shoulders off. Naruto cast a quick glance behind him, spying Melanie as she watched their interaction with a blank stare. Richtor was off looking for something else, the likes of which, Naruto didn't know of or care to know about. Coco chuckled and looked him over. "You got taller."

"It's been four years, Coco. And don't call me that."

"Not gonna happen." Timid footsteps drew Naruto's attention to a woman with long bunny ears wearing a Beacon school uniform that matched Coco's. "Velvet, come over here and meet a friend of mine from my days in Atlas." She slapped him on the shoulder and winced when she felt the sting of metal on her hand. "Man… I can't believe I forgot which arm that is." She shook her hand to numb the pain and motioned to Velvet for Naruto as the timid bunny girl slowly inched their way. "He doesn't bite… much."

Slowly, Naruto his head and stared at the fashion driven lady. "You friends or on a team?" he asked quickly. Coco's eyes widened and she hastily slapped her hands around his mouth to silence him. With one strong pull he removed her hands and said, "She used to be taller than me and had terrible…" Her hands were once again over his mouth and a look of pure horror was etched on her face. Naruto turned his head just enough to make eye contact before she let go and started rubbing her hands on his back. "…and she was always chasing after this one friend of mine. She has a crush on him."

"Had!" she corrected sharply. "I don't have a crush on him anymore. That jerk stayed in Atlas." She crossed her arms over her chest and Naruto smiled.

"So…" Velvet clammed up when Naruto turned his attention back to her as she started speaking. He smiled and wagged his tail in front of her. She stepped closer to Coco, poking her head out and watching him as she started over. "So you two know each other from Atlas? Was it at her starting school? She doesn't talk much about it." Coco adjusted her glasses just enough to let Naruto know he was thin ice. Velvet missed the subtle message to the blond Faunus and continued with her questions. "Was she always like this?"

"Fashion driven? Controlling? Scary on a moonlit dance by the lake? Always playing carpenter? Yeah, she's always been like that." The last one confused Velvet, but Coco had the decency to look embarrassed by his words. Leave it to him to talk about the good old bad days of her childhood. Same age and everything, and if he had simply been allowed at Beacon after he got his replacement arm, she'd have grabbed him up in a heartbeat for a teammate. She wasn't going to even compare Yatsuhashi or Fox to Naruto, but if she had to replace anyone for him, it'd be Fox. "So please tell me that my favorite gun totting, fashion sense, crazy friend is not your leader."

"She is."

"You're doomed." Coco slapped Naruto again and yelped when she realized she'd hit his metal arm again. "It's the left. It's always been the left. You pulled me out of the ditch when it happened and didn't leave my side for days when I was in the hospital. You're lucky they didn't fail you for that."

"I missed two tests!" she defended, slapping his other arm this time. It didn't hurt nearly as bad, but it did hurt. Naruto had beefed up in the last four years. He had been so scrawny when they were younger. "So what are you doing here?" Coco was going to change topics before Velvet or Fox could dig anything else out about her from Naruto. Call it her desires to leave the past in the past that kept her from talking about her childhood in Atlas. Was it wrong that they only knew she had family there and went to a starter school there? No. Did she want them knowing that when she was younger she was a child of disaster that spent every night looking for a good lay or doing wilder things? No.

By that time Richtor had rejoined the group, his gaze fixated on Velvet's bunny ears. Naruto hadn't paid him any mind until he remembered that Richtor was… well…. Richtor. "I'm here on business. I've been staying in Vale for a while now."

"And you didn't come and see me?"

"I didn't know you were here."

"I tried to get you into Beacon with me, Naru."

"Don't call me that, Sister Fister." Coco growled in response. Naruto smiled at her and then inhaled deeply. "So I assume you are their leader? That's good. I take back what I said about her earlier, Velvet, you are good hands."

"Well," Coco adjusted her glasses and watched Melanie saddle up beside the blond, "It's nice to see you have a thing with someone. I was worried about you after…" Coco stopped and turned her gaze to Fox. The orange haired man was in the back trying on new clothes for the dance that was going on in a few months. She was taking him and that was part of the reason they were here. Hopefully nothing would ruin that day. "It's good to see that you're doing well. We should catch up next weekend."

"I'll be busy, but I'll try to come see you when I can. In the meantime, it was really good seeing you. I'm here for my friend, Melanie, who needs to buy some clothes. I'd ask you to help her pick something out but I remember you having a terrible taste for fashion."

"And we don't need your help," Melanie supplied, taking firm hold of Naruto's arm. Naruto fought back a fake smile and was happy to see that Velvet bought it and Coco didn't. She knew him too well.

"Well I do have to find a dress for the dance in a couple of months. I figured I'd go ahead and try to find it now and hope that nothing bad happens." She moved around the blond and eyed Richtor as he continued to stare at Velvet's ears. "How about we look at something on you, Rags." Richtor ignored Coco and continued to stare at the now worried bunny Faunus. "Hey, Rags, you listening?"

"His name is Richtor, and I'll handle this." Naruto tore himself away from Melanie and tapped Richtor on the shoulder. "Stop staring at her. You're making her feel uncomfortable."

"But I've never seen a Faunus with bunny ears. Do you have a bunny tail as well?" Richtor asked, being genuinely honest. The whisker faced blond knew he was being honest and not hurtful with his question, but his tone was too straightforward and came off rude and insensitive.

Naruto gave him a stern look and Richtor blinked as he pointed to her ears. "Yes. She has bunny ears, Richtor, but she doesn't have a tail. Believe me, only a few very select members of the Faunus race can have more than one feature. But she doesn't have it. So apologize because you sound insensitive to her Faunus nature."

"Why would I have to apologize for an honest question, Fox Boy?"

Feeling a coming shit storm, Naruto turned around and tried to salvage what he could before Richtor took things too far. He would need to speak with Raven again on addressing such matters out in public. Did the organization really not have that many Faunus in their ranks? Naruto knew a few were in their ranks, but were they that rare in the group that Richtor spent hardly any time around them? That didn't seem possible. "Look, Coco, Richtor is special in the head. He speaks whatever is on his mind and isn't a racist. So don't jump the gun here… Literally." Her gaze remained hard, but she relented in disciplining the unknown male. "Now, Richtor, go apologize for your words, please."

"Do I have to buy her a gift? Woman like gifts, right?"

"Sure… Do that. Make sure it's not offensive." Richtor walked off to the back where the toys were located. Naruto rubbed his temples. "Velvet, I'm sorry about him. I'm not joking when I say he's special in the head." He coughed and turned back to Coco as Melanie glared on a hole in the side of her head. "He never gets called any nicknames either. So he's lived a very sheltered life. I'm watching him for a friend." Coco nodded like she cared. She didn't. The man was a terrible person and no amount of apologizing was going to fix what he did. "So if you're team leader, who else is with you?"

"We're out here today to get fancy clothes, as I said earlier, but I'm here with my fun loving Velvet and my boy toy, Fox." She gestured back to the orange haired teen that was now at the counter purchasing something. "Did you ever get into an academy?"

"No. I didn't get in to an academy."

"Maybe I can talk to the Headmaster Ozpin about getting you through. A few students have dropped out recently. Some of them do need a new member or two. I'm sure you could make it work." Coco flashed a disarming smile his way but he shook his head. "Always worth a try. So what are you doing now? You were pretty smart. Did you get hired for military work?"

"Something like that. Top secret stuff. I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you." They shared a laugh that left Velvet questioning Naruto's sanity. That wasn't something you said to a friend. "But I did get hired for military work. That's not why I'm here. I was lucky and got time off to come here for this." Richtor returned holding a plushy up in front of the female Faunus. "So you're present for an apology is to get her a wolf plushy." Naruto shook his head and turned away from the odd teenage to momentarily scream silently at how bad this was going.

"…Hey… Lulu will like that."

Naruto furrowed his brow at the strange comment made by Coco towards the gift in question. Velvet had already started ignoring the three around in favor of the stuffed grey wolf plushy that she now held up in the air like a parent trying to play with their child. A smile was already drawn across her face and after a few seconds she was hugging it ferociously as she turned and started prancing off, most likely heading back to the Academy.

"Well," Naruto cut in, grabbing Richtor by his shoulder and slinging an arm around Melanie's waist, "I think it's time I head back. Coco, if you ever need me, I'll find you. I know that doesn't make much sense, but I'll find you at the Academy if something comes up."

"You're not going to give me your number?" He shook his head and she frowned at that. "Well it was good seeing you. I'll see you around. Maybe you could come to the dance? It'd make my day."

"I'll think about it." The three walked off before another conversation could start. As soon as they were outside, Naruto released Richtor and Melanie and started walking faster. His Scroll buzzed and a sigh escaped his lips as he brought the device up to answer it only for text to appear before he could do so. He stopped dead in his tracks and glared at it before stuffing it in his pocket. _What are you up too?_

(-)

Raven held her breath as she watched the remaining three members walk in to the briefing room for their operation against the Badger going under the alias of Operation Distant Star. Naruto's requests were met in full. Everything he wanted was awkward through backchannels, illegal operations, false identification, and straight up theft. She didn't doubt that they broke more laws than she had dust blades, and she had every kind of color under the sun. And even looking at all the people gathered – all supplied with combat armor stolen from various companies around the globe – she felt as though this was the right thing to do.

Where man had once failed, they would triumph. This was would be the first step to ending the dark days that were out there, looming over them like rain clouds for a farmer on a hot and dry day that would never come. Tempting as it was to test their fates, this was the day she had feared the most. It would be the first step towards saving their world, taking back what was rightful theirs and stamping out the enemy that had haunted them for so long.

But a question and a fear still plagued her for the entire thing. Her adopted-er… son… was now going to take his first real operation against a force stronger than anything he'd ever encountered. She trained him, left her husband, for him. He was the greatest weapon anyone could ever ask for and today he was going to prove that he was worth every little bit of trouble he caused by doing the unthinkable… and the impossible.

Realizing that everyone who was meant to show up and arrived, she slipped in and took her spot beside an unhappy Kiba, decked out in his usual attire. Only a few others wore their standard clothing, and they were people that were as young as Kiba was. Naruto was at the front of the room with a board behind him with detailed instructions for the plan.

"Before we begin, I'm going to tell you all right now that this mission is dangerous and that we're all counting on everyone pulling their weight." Naruto's calm voice silenced anyone that was whispering to their neighbors. "For those of you that have worked with me before, you know what I expect. For those of you that have never worked with me know this: Everyone fights. No one quits. If you can't do your job, I'll shoot you myself. Are we clear?" A few nods and small replies of "Yes" sounded through the group. "Good. This operation is against the Ancient Grimm that attacked Distant Haven. This will be the first time in recorded history that an Ancient Grimm is killed by humans. So we're going to make history today. And we'll never be thanked for doing it. Understand that if you're here because you were promised glory and fame for doing the impossible, you won't get any."

"Skip the melodramatic shit and get on with it!"

Naruto smirked at the speaker, a young man in black armor with red lights flickering across his chest, knees, shoulders, and elbows. He had messy dark red hair and pink eyes. Around his forearm were two flat pieces of metal that were obviously meant to be his weapons for the suit.

"Fine," Naruto said with a small laugh. It was best to go ahead and get down to business anyways. "For this operation to work we're splitting up in to three teams. Team Alpha will consist of myself, Raptor, Dark Bird, Tango, Blue, and Sapphire. Our job is to get the Ancient Grimm to surface by any means. Team Beta will consist of Falcon, Hound, Flower, Red, Doc, Tucker, and Brownman. Your job is to setup the droids in front of your location on the designated marks. We're gambling that the Ancient Grimm will surface in front of them. The last few members will work on security detail until everything is setup. Once that is done, Flower and Falcon will move to sniping positions and use the rifles we acquired from Ycaruse Industries to puncture or kill the Ancient Grimm while Thunder and Storm provide security to them with their heavy weapons. Note that you'll only have two shots each for your rifles. So save them until we need them. I trust your judgments there. Once we get the Ancient Grimm to surface, we'll have Kiba, Raven, and myself up front to provide combat support for the droids we're using. Any questions?"

A hand shot up in the air and Naruto had to resist the urge to laugh like the others as a woman with dark blonde hair swept to the left and violet eyes. "How are we supposed to take this thing down? The weapons we have might hurt bigger Grimm like the Apex, but it won't do much to an Ancient, let alone a Demi."

Naruto pointed to Raptor, which was Richtor's codename, and her eyes flashed momentarily with disgust, along with a few others. Richtor sat silently in his seat beside his mother, eyes blinking occasionally while he smiled at being a part of the group conversation. Even if he didn't fully understand what was happening or what he was about to embark on, he was happy to be here. Maybe he did know what they were asking of him and he was just too excited to finally do something for once?

"Raptor will be the one to truly take it down. His power makes him unique and gives us the advantage we need to kill this thing." His words grew cold as he looked them all over and his face twisted into a look of defiance. "I selected you all because you're the best at what you do. If this plan fails, it's my problem. The world will see us as heroes or villains for what we're about to do. We have no idea what's going to happen when we kill this thing. If it makes other Ancient Grimm angry and they lash out at the world: I won't care. I'll sleep in my grave I'm digging."

Raven and a few others rose to their feet, sensing that the meeting was no over. "Hold up," a young man with dark purple eyes and short black hair that was slicked towards the left side. "Is that what you consider a pep talk?" Naruto nodded with a scowl. "You might wanna work on your team motivating thing. You ever heard of Casey Lee?"

"…Yeah…"

"He's like the gold standard, okay? Triangle, bitch!" He made a triangle with his thumb and pointer finger as he brought them together.

Nodding, Naruto cracked a smile and said, "Okay… I got one for you. You're going somewhere very bad to do something that'll get you killed. But until that happens… you follow my orders and fight what I tell you to fight. Disobey me and you die. Got it?" He nodded with a smile walked out. Naruto sighed and followed once it was just Raven and himself. "We got this…" He told her. Raven wondered if he was saying that for himself or for her.

(-)

"Switch to night vision."

A chorus of beeps and clicks sounded through the darkness over the sound of splashing water as weapons were readied and their proper vision mechanics were turned on. After a brisk two mile swim sucking down bottled air for over an hour, no one was happier to taste the air of death that hung in the cave. It was better than the bottled air they had used to stay alive during their swim.

Richtor took point, sniffing the air as he stalked through the darkness beside Naruto and Tango, the only two Faunus on their team. Both watched the shadows as they made their move towards the known location of the Ancient Grimm. A few Grimm showed could be seen in watching them, but made no move to engage them. Richtor watched them with unblinking eyes as they passed them by and continued on their path until they came across the light where the large Grimm was supposed to be. They rounded the corner and found the hole that lead down a few hundred feet where the dust crystals that lay on its back could be seen humming. Richtor peered over the edge and made a strange growling noise over the unusual buzzing noise that could be heard in soft whispers from his form.

The sound of gravel under foot got their attention and they all turned to see a large Grimm moving on them. Naruto sighed and pushed Richtor up front as a few more showed up. "Let's get this started…" he said with a frown.

He drew his twin pistols and took aim as Richtor suddenly lunged forward and tackled the Grimm to the ground. Sitting on top of it, he reached down and started slashing away on its face with his hands, ripping off flesh and tearing through bone. Richtor let out a feral roar as his shirt ripped apart and black fur coated his body. His hair went wild and his teeth turned to fangs. His nails lengthened and a bone spike shout out elbow that ended in a sharp point. As the Grimm slowly began to die, Richtor snarled and began to eat him with a swarm of bugs landing on it and eating away at the helpless creature as well. The other two Grimm that showed up backed away in fear for their life as their friend was devoured before them.

The Grimm never got a chance to turn into black wisps of smoke they were so well known for doing upon death.

Richtor turned his attention to the other two. Frozen in fear, the two Grimm were crippled by twin shots from Naruto. Richtor lunged at the closer one and started devouring it before moving to the other one. To those had never seen it in action, the sight of Richtor eating was horribly disturbing. Anything that was on the Grimm was eaten in short order and before bugs crawled off his skin and started eating away at the Grimm as well.

The earth shuttered and Richtor looked up with the lower jaw of one of the Grimm in his mouth. He munched on it as his eyes gained a red glow and looked towards the light. It shimmered green and then blazed red before the earth round Richtor erupted and a massive maw snapped out of the ground and ate Richtor in one large bite. Red eyes stared through the dust cloud towards them as its maw opened again and it moved towards them. Naruto smiled behind his mask.

… _We win…_


	11. Eat Your Heart out Chest Burster

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A/N

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Chapter 11

The moment the call came in, Ozpin felt a chill pass over him and knew that something dreadful had happened. "Yes," he answered, keeping calm and hoping for the best.

" _Ozpin, you need to come to your office. The Council is trying to reach you."_ Glynda's voice was less than pleasing to his ears. James offered him a curious glance when the Headmaster looked his way and then up to the elevator. _"They're talking about Badger."_

"I'm on my way." James's Scroll went off not a second later. His face was fixed to a look of rage and disbelief. "My office," Ozpin told him as they walked through the hallway with the speed of a teacher on a mission. Students got out of their way for fear of getting a lecture from either Headmaster. Once inside the elevator, James uncoiled and began checking the news channels. "If this was made public, we'd have Grimm in the city by now. This isn't that."

"They said that there has been attack by the Badger. It surfaced."

That was news to him. The doors opened and Glynda hastily vacated the area. It only took a minute for him get in touch with the Council members of each Kingdom and respective Headmaster. "I have James with me," he told them while another screen popped up with the words **SOUND ONLY** in bold lettering. A captain of a vessel meant to monitor the island for any changes, no doubt. "What's that the situation like?"

" _Five minutes ago the Badger surface and began engaging an enemy that we've yet to identify on the island, Sir."_ Both present Headmasters didn't recognized the voice, and concluded that it was the captain of whatever ship had made the discovery of was the acting commander over the operation. _"We thought it surfaced to change locations, but when we caught sight of a weapon discharges we knew something was up."_

" _And you still want to think we left survivors there?!"_ A female Council member from Mistral hissed. James winced at the bite in her tone. This was not how he had wanted his day to go. Only a few more days until the dance. Couldn't something good happen for a change?

" _Sorry if we come off this way, but_ we _have the island fully monitored,"_ someone else hissed back. _"We left the cleanup operation to you because it would come off as the beginning of a war by anyone else. We all know what war brings. So that's why we had you do it."_

" _And it's because of that the damn thing might have surfaced! We killed our own people and no one was happy about that!"_

"Do we have any drones in the area?" James asked, hoping to get them back on the main subject. Who did what and when didn't matter right now. All that mattered was containing the situation before it escalated into something they couldn't stop. If they didn't, the world would forever be changed and they didn't want that to happen.

" _We have two on approach. Five minutes out."_

James shuddered and did the math quickly in his head. The nearest base of operations for them was at least seven or eight minutes ago. Given that this all took place within the last five minutes meant that the drone should have left three minutes ago, not a minute or two ago. Unless someone was dragging their feet with the time, they should have already gotten drones in the air and had them circling them for the time being. But didn't their ships come with them?

Ozpin put a hand on James's shoulder to silence him before he made a crucial mistake and started asking questions that no one would like. "I see," Ozpin replied. Once he was sure James wasn't going to say anything negative, he stapled his fingers together and took a calming breath. "What about your long range cameras? Are they close enough to pick up anything?"

" _We tried, Sir, but the location is at the crater where the thing first showed up. Even if we could reach it, we won't be able to get a clean look at what's going on."_

" _And how did they get by you? You have state of the art equipment meant for monitoring the ocean. How'd you fail to see this happen?"_

" _This just gives more proof to that the fact that Mistral didn't do what they said they did."_ The Headmaster from Shade sounded displeased, but no one would blame him. Not right now. They could do that later. _"Unless they managed to bribe your entire crew or a few of you, they wouldn't have been able to sneak by."_

"Unless they swam or used some sort of a teleportation or summoning ability after getting on the island," James told them bitterly. A few members could be seen nodding while others grunted in disbelief. "It doesn't matter how they got there or who they are. What does matter is that we keep the situation perfectly contained. What kind of ordinance do you have your vessels, Captain?"

" _Not enough to put a dent in that thing. I read the report, General. Our weapons will be useless against it. Not unless whoever is fighting it has a way to break its armor. If they can do that, we might be able to take it down. But given how much damage the thing took last time from a single Sunstroker Missile…"_ he let it hang there. No one would challenge something that walked away from the most powerful bomb in existence. It was a testament to the sheer power that the Ancient Grimm possessed. _"ETA on drones is three minutes."_

 _Three minutes,_ James thought with a shudder. A battle could be decided in far less. He didn't like the idea trying to organize a military strike without proper information. This was just one such time where being reckless meant death to him. He wanted to tell them to land troops and make a charge on the creature. Whatever made it surface had to have gotten it good a mad. But that would be suicide for any military group.

For three long minutes the Council members argued between themselves while the Headmasters awaited the arrival of the drones. James kept glancing at Ozpin as if silently asking what he was thinking. Ozpin remained calm and collected the entire time. James had always known Ozpin to be a friend and a powerful ally. Keeping secrets from him always made him feel terrible inside. But knowing that Ozpin held a few more of his own hadn't made him think less of the man, but it did put a stain on the man that he felt he couldn't get rid of.

Naruto Uzumaki, a prized student turned mercenary, was more than anything he had ever thought he could be or would be. Naruto was a Guardian, though not trained, and had run away when he learned the truth of what that meant. James couldn't blame him. He ran away when he got his new arm, suffered through the death of Sakura, and was convicted of murder on a former Councilors grandchild. Learning that horrible truth gave James more insight in to what made Naruto who he was. James wished now, more than ever, to have Naruto as a member of the Specialist Sect in his military. But that would be leaving him with Ozpin to train and learn how to be what a Guardian was.

" _We're getting a visual!"_

James snapped from his train of thought and watched the feed from a new monitor as it showcased a battle that he'd seen a hundred times. Grimm were on one side, fiercely fighting to kill everything in their respective path. On the other side were soldiers, backed by SDC droids. But the numbers were staggering against the soldiers. The Grimm outnumbered them a hundred to one. Alphas made up about two-thirds of their numbers, and yet, despite the overwhelming power they brought to the table, even backed by the Ancient Grimm, they weren't making any headway on crossing the invisible line that was drawn in the sand by the fifty-something Spider droids he could see.

" _Who are these people?!"_

" _I have no idea! They're not ours!"_

Ozpin put himself on mute and gave James a hard look. James was oblivious to it until his fellow Headmaster tapped him in the shoulder. "They're not mine," he answered quickly.

"They have SDC Droids out there!"

"I know." He shuddered to think the kind of reach these people had.

Getting one or two of them was okay. That just meant that someone had either been cleaver enough to steal one or someone had gotten greedy in the company or his military ranks and sold one. But to get fifty was unheard of. That was an entire shipment that just got up and taken by someone. Fifty of those things could put a pretty dent in any Kingdom if left in Kill Mode. The power they had was tremendous, but not enough to take on an Ancient Grimm.

Ozpin took himself off mute but then quickly placed himself back on it. He eyed the battlefield and it only took a second for James to see at well. The formation was setup the same way most operations were setup for Atlas operations against the Grimm. Droids would be up front, working as a buffer to protect the soldiers behind them. With heavy armor and no cost for human life, the droids worked as an expendable soldier that Atlas utilized the greatest extent. Behind the droids was where the real firepower came from in the form of mobile turrets, mortar users, high power rifles, and RPGs. But their numbers were thin. Only fifteen were present for what they could see with three up front working with the droids as frontline fighters while the remaining twelve peppered them from afar with varying forms of rifles.

"This is one of your battle tactics, James."

"I swear that this isn't my forces. I had nothing to do with this!" Ozpin held the mans' gaze and after only a few short seconds, turned away with a audible sigh. James shuddered at the thought of one of his soldiers going out and using his tactics against this horde of monsters. But who could actual use his tactics that would openly challenge the Grimm like this? This was pure suicide. There was no chance of victory here. At least not one that he could see or would admit to seeing. So then who would do this and why?

Taking himself off mute, the two Headmasters were about to start replying to the screaming when the active military commander suddenly exploded to life with another voice behind them. _"High energy output detected!"_

"That's gotta be the EMP! Get the drones higher!" Ironwood shouted. The camera shifted as the drones began to climb higher into the air. The monitor flickered and then died before it was replaced by another. "Get another drone out there, now! We need eyes on the battlefield! Keep that drone as high as you can! I don't care if it gets out of range. Do not let it lose sight of the battlefield or get hit by that ability!" Victory or not, any information they could gleam from this would save a lot of lives in the future.

The monitor feed picked up the death of the second drone as it fell out of the sky and crashed against the back of the Badger. It didn't seem to notice that it had been hit by a small metal craft no bigger than a car with more dust crammed in that most vehicles had to run on. With the drone now higher in the air, it picked up the battlefield better than it originally had and gave them a clear line of sight on what sort of damages it could inflict on the land. It didn't so much as move from its spot to engage on the enemy either. It stayed its ground and oversaw the fight like a general standing high above them giving them orders. The weaker Grimm threw their lives away without much thought; running head first into gunfire and getting shredded by hot metal.

James chewed on his lower lip in thought to the reason for the engagement. This whole thing didn't make sense. If this was a fight for survival, sure, he could see it. But this was planned. Someone had gathered up enough military tech to launch this kind of an operation and was planning for victory. He could see that in how they fought. And…

" _The droids are still active, Sirs!"_

Everyone stopped talking to process that information for only the briefest of seconds. _"They're what?"_ someone asked as another person shouted, _"Get Mr. Schnee on the line right now! I don't care if you're waking him up! Get him on here now!"_ in a fit of rage. The droids were in fact still active and actively firing on the Ancient Grimm now. It had now taken part in the battle and slowly approaching them with the intent to squash them.

" _Another high energy output detected!"_

Badger opened its mouth and from its impressive maw, a torrent of white light erupted over the battlefield in the form of a beam that carved a path through the land and parted the ocean for a full ten seconds as the super-heated water boiled anything near it. The act cost the lives of ten droids and heavily damaged another twenty that kept on firing while moving up. The drone made sure to get a good look at the humans that were still fighting. Their numbers hadn't changed and they were all still fighting.

 _Is it possible they planned on that?_ Ozpin hid his concerned expression behind his stapled hands. _I know that you're out there, Naruto. This is one of your operations. But why are you so eagerly throwing away your life? What could you possibly have that would turn the tide in this fight?_ The giant crystals on its back began to pulse and another call on a high energy output was met with a different voice shouting the same thing, but making sure to point out it came from a different location. Alarmed, Ozpin watched the monitor more closely as twin beams of red energy zipped from nowhere and blew a hole through the left and ride sides of the Badger, working to both stun and cripple it at the same time. _They have two more people there!_

" _Where the hell did that come from?"_

" _Checking now, Sirs!"_ There was a moment of silence as the drone hastily searched for the source. It found it a moment later in the form of two humans lying flat on the ground with oversized rifles facing the creature. _"Sir, they have two snipers using some sort of high output weapon."_

" _That's Ycaruse Industry tech!"_

The barrels came into view and read the company name along their length. James held his breath. _What kind of reach do these people have?_

Another monitor came to life and Mr. Schnee himself appeared. He was unhappy about something and made it known to all with how he spoke. _"What is the meaning of this? I was in the middle of an important meeting with-"_

" _Hold your tongue, Mr. Schnee!"_ The Council member from Mistral commanded with a hiss. _"You'll lose more than your business with us if you don't come clean right now! Why are fifty of your droids on my land tearing at the Badger!"_ The feed was sent to him and for a moment his face the stuff of nightmares. Men with power feared greater men with power and in the safety of their homes could wear a face that would haunt lesser men for ages. But that was faced was washed away when he saw _his_ robots on _foreign_ land _attacking_ an Ancient Grimm. _"Care to explain yourself?"_

" _I didn't sell anything of this nature to anyone but the proper military channels! They might have been stolen tech since_ someone _seems to have a hard time transporting them without them getting stolen."_ James was stopped by a quick hand from Ozpin that went unseen by all. James looked furious towards Ozpin, but the man remained calm even now under these mind numbing arguments. _"I haven't sold any of my tech to anyone else but the proper people who pay for them. My job is not to get them to the client. That is the clients' job to get them to themselves since most of you want to use your own form of transportation and facilities to house my equipment."_

" _You mean like what you did when you came over with Atlas and took our land?"_ the Shade Headmaster said with a snarl. James cringed. Mr. Schnee did not. _"If this_ _ **is**_ _stolen tech, then you won't mind us sending people over to your facilities to make sure of that."_

" _I refuse."_

" _Then we hold you accountable for this and any more death because of this is on your hands!"_ the Haven Headmaster hissed with the Council making the same argument.

Another monitor came to life and Mr. Ycaruse appeared on screen. The man looked pleasantly surprised to be pulled into a joint call and was already undoing his tie. He held a glass of something, probably scotch since it was his favorite, and was going over something off screen as he said, _"Where's the fire at?"_ with a yawn.

" _Two people have access to two high power rifles of some sort with your name on them. Care to explain that?"_

James watched Mr. Schnee snort and mutter something that no one caught as the direct feed was sent to him as well. He took a full minute to eye the weapons and then check over something on a terminal that was barely in range of his monitor feed. After doing a lot of typing he shook his head and said, _"They were given out for testing purposes to Scarlet Schnee!"_

" _You Faunus loving bastard!"_ Mr. Schnee roared, slamming his fist on the table and his face the look of murder. _"I have no relatives by that name! Take responsibility for your actions and don't pin them on me, you Faunus lover!"_

" _Yes. My wife is a Faunus that I love dearly and I have two beautiful children that I also take care of and love with all my heart that are also Faunus. But let's not forget that you have three children that damn near hate one another and a wife that drinks from sun up to sun down. Or perhaps you'd also like to take responsibility for your_ _ **fourth**_ _child you do nothing to tend to!"_

"Enough," Ozpin said with a strangely calm voice. "Arguing will get us nowhere fast. We need to know what's going and on what the weapons they have can do and if they were modified in any form. The droids have already survived an EMP blast that took out of drone that was built by you, Mr. Schnee. These droids survived that when our drone did not. Have you made any modifications for them to survive an EMP blast of any kind?"

" _That's not his area of production."_

The white haired CEO closed his eyes in regret. Being bested by someone else for a military tech was one thing, but being bested by a human married to a Faunus was another thing he didn't like. That was just added salt to the open wound since he hated him both as a man who loved a Faunus as a man who held the more advanced military tech at the moment. His R&D staff had made progress with some of the new models in guns and robotics, but they were coming up way short when it came to EMP Shielding. That was Ycaruse's field of expertise.

" _So we're looking at a hybrid of technologies?"_

"Most likely," James said with a frown. Neither CEO would stand for that. Jacques might have started their little war, but Sabot truly wanted to end it peacefully. His wife was a testament to something that Jacques didn't have anymore, or perhaps he never had it to begin with. "But what about the rifle? What does it do?"

" _It's a high impact, high output rifle that utilizes magnetic coils to further propel a round fired from the gun. The cartridges alone cost a fortune to make, as their rather big and are needed for that to hold the dust inside them to give it the extra push on the rounds fired. The tradeoff for this is that the gun can only be fired a few times before it overheats and becomes useless. If these are the two prototypes we created, then I hope they put them together right because if they're put together improperly, the thing can explode in their hands and with the amount of dust those rounds carry, plus the dust used to power it, that would be one big bang."_

" _They managed to fire one shot each successfully."_

" _Then hopefully they only have one round. Anymore and I'd be wanting to have words with this Scarlett Schnee, whoever-"_

" _Another high energy output detected!"_

The conversation came to a halt as the dust shards on the Badgers' back began to glow again. Its mouth opened and a black light shown from within its massive maw. It pointed the attack at the humans below and-A tether shot out of the Badgers' side, slapped against the ground, went taut, and yanked the creature sides. The blast left its mouth and sailed through the air.

"Track that now!" James shouted.

" _Another high energy output detected! It's from the snipers!"_

James watched the feed as one of the snipers hastily turned around and took aim at the sailing orb of energy. _Is he going to snipe it?_ The range was already staggering. It'd be an impossible shot. The sniper fired and the trail of red energy sailed through the air and caught the blast before it could make off the island, detonating it into a raging inferno in the sky that rained down droplets of fire that were extinguished before touching the soil.

The sniper got up, leaving the gun to its fate, and yanked out a rifle from a pack nearby.

" _They only have two rounds each!"_

" _That's good to hear. But who was that guy? How'd he make that king of a shot?"_

" _We can worry about that later. What came out of the Grimm just now?"_

Badger started to get to its feet again when another tether shot out and hooked the ground to yank it sideways once more. The crystals began to glow and its mouth opened up with another glowing orb, this time being red. The second shot was fired from the sniper and it got the crystals, resulting in a large explosion that knocked it flat on the ground and destabilized the attack it was forming. Blood shot skyward and a bulge formed on its chest. It released a pained cry and stood to its full height as the bulged exploded and a hand appeared.

" _What's going on?"_

" _We have no idea, Sir!"_

"Find out right now!" James demanded.

A blood curling roared sounded as a second hand appeared and started to push the flesh away and make the hole larger. A head appeared and screamed as part of its face began to morph before their very eyes. Ozpin took a picture of it and started looking through his files while James and everyone else watched in horror as the strange Grimm mutated before their eyes and ravaged the Badger with oversized hands. Once the hole was twice the size of its body, it pulled itself up to show that it was still very large and Gorilla-like in terms of body type, and released a dozen tethers from its back that skewered the heavily injured Grimm and held it in place.

The Ancient Grimm whimpered as it looked down at the new arrival and charged up an attack that was slow to build. Pausing in its yelling, it turned on the Ancient Grimm and blasted it with an attack similar to its better that silenced it quickly and removed a large portion of its head and lower jaw in the process. Free to rampage again, it turned back the hole it had come from and started to blast the inside of it with the same attack again and again while releasing more tethers into its soft flesh.

Beaten, the Ancient Grimm lay helplessly on the ground whimpering and calling for aid. The Grimm around it turned and fled the scene, leaving their master to its resigned fate of death.

"W-What the hell is that thing?" James asked in fear. He looked to Ozpin for an answer. Ozpin looked grim and closed the file he was looking at before James could see it. "Ozpin, what is that thing?"

The feed from the drone suddenly turned sideways and alarms began to scream in the background. James watched as the ground came up fast on the feed. It never hit the ground, yet the feed remained. _"…Is this thing still on?"_ a male voice asked. A clawed hand gripped the edge of the camera and brought it around for them to see as a werewolf with white fur died red from blood smiling at them. _"…To those of you that think Faunus are monsters. I ask you this: What is he?"_ The feed shifted to the inside of the Ancient Grimm where it's very heart still beat and the monster that had downed it hungrily ate at. _"Say hi, monster!"_

The creature turned around with a large clump of hard flesh dangling from its mouth. Red eyes glared back at the speaker before it slurped up the flesh and gave the camera a smile.

" _Destroy the drone, idiot!"_ A female hissed. The drone was destroyed a moment later and the Council remained silent. Both CEO's were kicked from the party and left to think on what they had just witnessed.

"Monitor the Ancient Grimm. Let us know if there are any changes." James said softly. He put it on mute and stared down at Ozpin. "What was that thing?"

Ozpin said nothing. He brought the first image up and the one he had closed. James looked at them and then let his mouth hang open. The first image was taken from the creature that came out of the Ancient Grimm. The second was an all too familiar face that he had long since repressed that looked exactly the same as the first, but younger, smaller, and was feminine whereas the first was clearly male.

"…Exodus…" James whispered in sadness.

Ozpin nodded wordlessly. "He's like her." He turned slowly and removed his glasses. James turned away from the Headmaster before him. No longer was he a man that could keep his calm under the most terrible of situations. He was a man that was broken, frail, and tired of defeat. James knew what he was going to say before he even said it, and still he let him say it anyways. "We have to tell them about her."

"They won't understand."

"They're going to want answers."

"And we can't give them all of them."

"But we can give them enough to be satisfied. The Council always turns to us for answers. We Headmasters are both teachers and huntsmen. It is our job to be in the know. If we don't know anything about him, then that means we have failed our job."

"And the others? They don't know about them! And even if they did, they wouldn't talk. Why should we?"

"Why shouldn't we?" Ozpin took them off mute and listened sadly as they exploded with more arguing of what the new creature was. "We know what it is," Ozpin confessed. "It's a Grimm Eater."

" _And what is a Grimm Eater?"_

James shut his eyes and said, "They're beings created by the cults that worship the Grimm. We've come across one before. But it died shortly after we got it. We didn't know what we had, so we called it Exodus. Exodus was the first Grimm Eater we ever discovered. They're humans that need to eat Grimm to live. They could eat regular food, but eating Grimm keeps them alive."

" _And you had one and never told us?"_

"She died."

" _So they work the same way that a normal Grimm does when you capture them? That figures."_

"No… She – She starved to death." James waited and listened as they started yelling again. Each question was met with a pounding of flesh on table that left the power General reeling as though he'd been hit. Ozpin shut his eyes through the whole thing. "It wasn't our fault. We didn't know what she was until it was too late."

" _Perhaps you should explain how you came across one!"_

Ozpin took a calming breath before speaking. Word came in that the Ancient Grimm was now dead and he knew what he was about to say would spark great controversy. "We found her in the ruins of the remnants of the Church of Red Eyes. It was there that we found here, feasting on the remains of something dead that neither us could identify. She was only five years old." Someone shouted and then another put him down. "James took her to his medical wing at one of the bases where I monitored her and tried to cox out her name. She wasn't educated and apparently couldn't speak well either. She didn't know her name, so we called her Exodus because of her golden skin and blue hair. For two days we tried to get her to eat but she wouldn't take the food. But she complained about being hungry, so we tried to give her every kind of dish we could think of, but nothing worked."

"Then we noticed something off about her. We sent in a pair of orderlies to tend to her. She killed one and wounded the other. By the time we were notified the body had been fully devoured and she was content. The idea of feeding humans to her, even prisoners, was talked about, but we didn't like the idea of it and kept trying to push other foods onto her. We kept her in a maximum security prison where she played with toys and watched television all day. But after four days she began to grow hungry again. On the seven day she changed into this." He gave them access to the photo that was taken. A few gasped, some threw up, and others barely held back their rage. "We found her the next day dead. She had starved to death. The people that watched her die said she cried out for hours before her time came, and when she died, she turned into the same black wisps of smoke that the Grimm do upon death."

Ozpin fell silent and James took over. "We later went back to the spot where we found her and did a more thorough search of the place. We came back with books and notes detailing her birth and the method they used to make her. A woman was willingly giving herself to the Grimm and was knocked up by it. A few short months later she was born, but she hungered for flesh and ate her mother. A few more people were eaten before she was strong enough to walk and fight on her own. By then they knew what they had because they found her eating Grimm. During those five years we had reports of less Grimm activity. She had been eating them all. We think that the Grimm might have vacated the area in fear of her and without a proper food source, she turned on the Cult and ate all of them."

" _We had a similar thing happen about eighteen years ago off the coast."_ A Vacuo Council member said with an air of forgetfulness. _"We hired out Vale's Huntsmen to take care of the operation. They reported that they found nothing strange. When we there to do our own investigation, we found no sightings of Grimm. But beforehand we found hundreds of them fleeing the area. Could there have been one in our own backyard as well?"  
_

" _That seems likely with this new information. So how powerful are the Grimm Eaters? Surely this is a well-trained one."_

" _This is the first we've ever had actual eyes on one in combat! I highly doubt they know how powerful they are. But given that one just took down an Ancient Grimm, means that they are very powerful and a very capable of whipping out entire towns on their own."_

"So can any skilled Huntsman," Ozpin countered. "Give someone enough teachings and they can do the impossible. What we just witnessed might be a fully trained one, but we have no way of knowing without being able to talk to him or the people that trained him. For the time being, we'll keep this information under wraps. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a meeting with my fellow teachers." Ozpin killed the channel and looked to James. "Raven did come back with a child from that operation. And it's my understanding that she left her husband to take care of said child."

"Can you get in touch with her?"

"I can try."

(-)

"And the operation was a success!"

Onboard their private prowler, Naruto was less than pleased to hear that coming from Kiba, but given how the mission went off without a single hitch, it was more than anyone could hope for. Still, a need to discipline Kiba was in order. Naruto moved away from the screaming form of Richtor as Raven tended to him and sat down beside him in the co-pilot seat. "I should shoot you right now," Naruto told him irritably.

"I did my job! I kept the Grimm off the droids long enough for that _thing_ to take it down. My job was easy."

"I'm not talking about that. You handled that well enough." Akamaru started to growl at the blond as he looked ahead and flexed his hand. Kiba tensed up seeing him make ready to hit him and reached for his axe. "Raven told you to take out the drone after we shot it down. We didn't want the world knowing about Richtor. And you give them a good look at his new form. You disobeyed a direct order from a higher-up. You're lucky you're flying right now, or I'd break your arm again."

"And if you refer to my son in that matter again, I'll kill you, Kiba!" Raven hissed.

She finished administering some sedatives to Richtor to help him sleep through the pain. For whatever reason, shortly after finishing off the Ancient Grimm he went into a screaming fit and began lashing out at everything until he collapsed in to the fetal position and called for Raven. The fact that his entire body changed its feral appearance when he was in a Grimm Form was a big shock to them, but the bigger shock came when he suddenly doubled over screaming in pain. There was nothing wrong with him physically unless the new form came with an odd side effect that they currently had no way of identifying. Raven had ordered that they head to their HQ first to drop him off and from there she'd transport the other members back to Vale to continue their operation and awaiting for more orders.

Kiba kept his gaze forward from that point on.

Raven sat down behind Naruto and began going over the data on the Ancient Grimm. It had sported a few other surprises before its death. Their combat with it had proved to be a great fountain of information. The fact that Grimm could already utilize energy based attacks was known to the world, though in a few rare breeds of Grimm, but the fact that it could alter the shape, color, and intensity of said energy attacks was something that no other Grimm could do or had done before.

Naruto was already hard at work thinking of a way to stop their next target: Fahrenheit. That would be the real obstacle to overcome. Scoring a victory against the Grimm like this was a major blow to whatever power they had. If they could silence more of the Ancient Grimm and kill more of the named ones that had started to make their place in the world, they just might be able to push them all back into the darkness and reclaim the land that had been taken from them.

Naruto's Scroll beeped and without pause he answered it. "Hello, Ozpin." He paused and his eyes darkened after a few brief seconds of silence. "I'd rather not stage a meeting today if at possible. Is something the matter?" Shock, rage, and the finally resignation flashed across his face. "I'll come see you in a few days. I'm not Vale right now. I went out to visit some friends of mine. I'll be back this weekend. How does that sound?" After another minute of silence, Naruto hung up and inhaled deeply. "Ozpin wants to talk to me about something. Said it's important."

"He probably knows that you lead the assault against Badger," Raven pointed out.

"That might be a possibility."

Naruto chewed on his thumb for a moment. Ozpin wouldn't call him out on something like this. Kiba's screw up might cost him their place in Vale. If that was the case, high-command was going to have choice words with him after Naruto got through breaking every bone in his body. What prompted Kiba to do that? Richtor was an abomination for sure. He was proof of mankind going too far with their creations and their desires to make the world a safer place by creating their own monsters, but he was still human. He was still a normal person with an odd choice for food and even stranger powers.

Richtor's creation and abilities were no longer a secret to Naruto. He learned everything before making his plan of attack on Badger. He waged that if he could get Richtor inside it by any means then Richtor could eat it from the inside. His body didn't so much as eat their flesh and hold it like normal food. He ate their flesh and when it became their black wisps of smoke, that smoke was consumed and fueled his limitless power that could only be stopped when his food source was fully gone. When Richtor ate Grimm, he would sometimes go into a mindless feasting rage and eat until there was nothing left to eat. If he ate Grimm with humans around and was still hungry afterwards, there was a chance that he'd turn on them. Though this had only been reported once, it was still a slight possibility.

Raven had confirmed what the reports had said on that particular incident. Richtor had been left in the care of another person for a week. For the entire week he was not allowed to go outside and eat the Grimm. The person had been under direct orders to provide him absolute protection. Upon return, Raven had been become distraught at the condition of her son when she found him huddled in the corner of a room gnawing on something that had once been human after he escaped and went outside to eat Grimm.

They never found the body of the man that was supposed to watch him, and Richtor held no memories from the incident. The entire event was stricken from the record, but they still carried copies of the entire event. This was both a check and a warning to the higher ups on how much power and how much of a threat Richtor could be if not taken care of.

Naruto had also cracked open a few other reports of odd sightings of people eating others. These people were shot on sight and no one ever thought much on it. Naruto was left with a puzzling theory that there were more Grimm Eaters out there, but without further proof, he couldn't back up the claim. Only one other person seemed to know about the existence of Grimm Eaters, and that was a frontline fighters that refused to go by any codename given to him: Hidan.

Hidan had joined their group almost twenty years ago. His time before that was a complete mystery that not even Naruto could crack. His people were smart and could find anything on anyone at any time. But Hidan eluded anything and everything. Naruto had questioned the validity of allowing a man with no past to join their ranks. Their answer had been less than gratifying and very morbid.

" _A man with no past will not be remembered or mourned by anyone in death."_

After their meeting, Naruto had done a lot of digging and found that a great numbers of their members were children without homes or families when they started. They were people that lost everything to Grimm or war or bandits. That left them feeling hatred and thirsting for revenge. So they were promised vengeance and joined like little good little children with the promise of sweets. Some were dead by the operations they cared, others had been killed off when they had shown signs of going rouge. A good majority of them made to adulthood and served as tactical operation specialists that cared out the darkest of operations in places where death were certain and every shadow was an enemy.

To their organization, no one was an ally. Everyone was an enemy. To trust your neighbor was to invite death. Though they shared a common goal, the threat of your partner stabbing you in the back was still a high chance that they sometimes had to deal with. If you were broken, you were discarded.

They made working with Zabuza and the Seven Sins of Mistral look like child's play.

Naruto decided to cross the first real bridge when they got to Vale and go from there.

(-)

"You have fun on your job?"

If Junior was angry with Naruto, he didn't show it. The whole idea of Naruto running off to some location he wouldn't discuss to carrying out a job that just _happen_ to coincide with a big change in Mistral wasn't exactly something he was willing to just let go. Information on the entire thing was sketchy, but he knew it involved a rouge group taking on some sort of a giant Grimm. Anything else he didn't know, and he was willing to let his curiosity finally get the better of him. So when Naruto came back, he wanted to know the full details of his job.

And credit to Naruto was that he wasn't talking.

But Naruto had a good reason for keeping his mouth shut at the moment as it was currently be used to inhale food and drinks at the moment while Miltia hung off his side like some love-struck puppy that had gone a few hours without seeing its owner. If Junior was ten years younger he might have laughed and made several innuendos to the duo, but since he was older, wiser, and sometimes considered more mature, he opted not to and instead decided to just watch the whole thing play out in favor of short answering questions.

Naruto nodded while he finished inhaling his ramen. He held up a hand when Junior opened his mouth to ask his next question, and drank the broth with wide eyes that were almost comical to look at. He downed the bowl and huffed as he pushed it forward in favor of grabbing his glass of something dark. The information broker/club owner hadn't served him his drink.

"The job went well. Kiba has a broken arm and a broken leg right now."

Junior rolled his eyes. No point in asking how that happened since Naruto had said it with a brooding gaze in his eyes. Obviously Kiba did something stupid and Naruto broke him again. Shame, 'cause he needed to work tomorrow. Maybe he'd get lucky and he'd show up regardless. Kiba had an amazing healing ability. Either he was gifted with two semblances or he was so used to be badly injured that he just healed instantly from everything. If that was the case, Junior wanted that power. It might even cure hangovers.

"He'll be back tomorrow," Naruto said as he popped a random ice cube in his mouth and crunched it. Junior chuckled. "I'm not a mind reader. I just know he has to work tomorrow. Good thing, too, because the idiot needs to pay me back for all the food he's eaten at my apartment. Stupid asshole!"

"So do you have to go anywhere this weekend?" Miltia asked, sounding hopeful. Melanie looked ready to puke as she hung her head while drinking away her woes. Naruto shook his head and her smile brightened. "So do you wanna go see a movie this Saturday? There's a new one coming out."

"We have a spa date!" Melanie slurred out.

"After that we don't have anything planned!"

"We were going to go home and unwind since we'd be getting Saturday off." Her defense was weak and Naruto thankfully downed the rest of his drink as he came to her aid.

"If you two have plans, we can do it next week at some point." He would have untangled himself from her, but he liked the feel of her breasts pressing against his arm. If he had to get up right now it'd be awkward. Melanie gave him a snarl as she reached behind the counter to grab another drink. Junior eyed her strangely before his gaze shifted to the doors behind them. "What's wrong?" Naruto turned in his chair and any indication to an awkward tent in his pants was gone as nothing but rage filled his entire existence.

A blond haired woman with a petit form stood a few paces behind him. Her golden hair was pulled into a ponytail that was taped up. She wore a black uniform with a few pieces of armor covering her arms and chest. Naruto's scowl deepened as a smile touched her lips.

"Can I help you?" Junior asked, sounding unsure of what was going on. Naruto hadn't exactly been very forthcoming with his past, but if this woman could make him turn feral in a flash, there was obviously a story there and one that he'd demand answers on or dig until he hit rock bottom to find clues on. "We're closed by the way." He felt the need to state that before a fight broke out.

"In about five seconds I'll be out of her anyways." Her voice was soft and velvety. Her smile never left her face. She checked her watch and looked thoroughly amused. "You've been staring at me for the last ten seconds since I said that. I'm impressed you haven't-"

Out came Naruto's pistols and he fired without care. The strange woman rolled the side and avoided the twin shots that would have carved a path through her eyes and out the back of her skull. When she hopped to her feet, her hands exploded into thing blades that sprang out of her gauntlets she wore. Naruto was already on top of her. His guns transformed into knives and he slashed at her. She grabbed both of his wrists before his blades could taste flesh and kicked him hard in the side of the head. He staggered and she twisted, using strength that she didn't seem to be capable of having as she threw him viciously out the door.

Moving as stray strand of hair out of her eyes, she briskly walked towards the door only to pause and stagger as Naruto got in close and kicked her in the side of the head as he crawled over her form, kneeing her twice in the back before rolling over her shoulder, hooking her left arm as he flipped down to his feet, and then kicked her away with a powerful blow to the side of her head once more. She stumbled, lost her balance, hit the floor, and rolled to her shaky feet. Naruto snorted and tackled her through a table.

Her hand buzzed with lightning as she touched her chest. He screamed but fought through the pain as he grabbed her offending arm and wrenched it up with a pop. The lightning died and she yelled painfully as he dislocated her arm from her shoulder in an attempt to rip it off. With a mighty yell she grabbed his collar and hurled him away. He landed on his feet, transformed a pistol back its original form, took aim, and squeezed off a round. It tore through her aura and grazed her dislocated arm. She spun with the blow.

"Yugito! What are you doing here?" He holstered the other pistol and took full aim on her head as she slowly got back to her feet. "You stay on the ground or I'll put a bullet in your head!"

"You won't kill me," she said with a laugh. She got up. Naruto squeezed off a round and watched the bullet stop in midair as an odd blur darted in his field of vision. The bullet hit the ground and another woman appeared wagging a finger like a lecturing mother. "Fuu, that wasn't necessary. I have the situation under control."

Fuu rolled her eyes and raised Naruto's twin pistols with disgust. She wore the same uniform, but smaller as if she were trying to make it sexy. Her midriff was exposed and her arms were bare. The back of her uniform was near nonexistent and would have been assumed to not exist if not for a tiny piece of fabric to hold it together while revealing her lack of a bra at the same time unless it wrapped around the top of her neck like her shirt did.

"Guns are disgusting," she remarked while setting them on the table beside her. She looked at Yugito and then to the male blond. "Hello, Naruto! I'm Fuu. I don't have to explain what this means, I hope?"

Looking at his weapons and then to the two females, his mind raced with tactical plans. The girl was obviously fast. But she seemed to be faster than Ruby, and he doubted that Ruby could stop a bullet in mid-air like that. That had to be the work of something else. Not unless she could… His eyes hardened and she whistled.

"You are fast!" she said with a high pitched laugh.

"Fuu, enough of your games. We came here for a reason."

"I told you I'd have it handled, but you went in and got him all mad! Look at him! You two don't have a good history, either. That's why I told you I'd come alone. You two can't get within five feet of each other without trying to kill one another." She watched Naruto as he stood up with his arms akimbo. Her eyes danced over his form and then the two girls that had their weapons drawn. "Perhaps we should save this meeting for another time. Ozpin wasn't too keen on us meeting you before he could talk to you. I'm sorry about what my partner did. But you have to understand something, Naruto; we're here for a reason."

"If you're here to kill me, know that I'll kill you first."

"I hold no illusions that you can come up with a plan to do that. That's _his_ specialty after all." Before Naruto could say anything else, the two women started walking away as Fuu said, "I'll be seeing you soon, Naruto. And please don't bring a gun. I really do hate them," before shutting the doors and leaving.

Naruto scowled and then cursed loudly as he grabbed his guns and stormed back over to the bar. Junior didn't bother with questions. Naruto's fury was enough to set the world on fire right now. It was a completely rare moment to see him angry enough to visible scowl and scare people. "I'm getting drunk tonight." Naruto finally said as he calmed down. _I'm going to kill her tomorrow. I swear, I'll kill her._ Naruto downed the entire bottle after snatching it out of Junior's hand. He was going to regret tomorrow morning. He could already tell.


	12. The Definition of Power

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A/N

This story is entirely fan-made and fictional. Any acts that you might find offensive, disguising, inhuman, wrong or just don't like, we are not liable for. You are reading this story of your own free will and not being forced, if you don't like something we are not forcing you to stay and read it. Please leave the page and re-frame from reading the chapter and or story. All Copyrighted Characters belong to their respect owners. We don't claim anything that is not our own creation and are merely using them for fan made material.

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Chapter 12

Naruto awoke to the unfamiliar presence of someone else in his bed with him. His mind raced and for a moment he reached for his pistol as he jerked around in his bed to grab the item and point it at the person beside him. It only took a second for him to remember that the person in bed with him was Miltia. Sighing, he calmed himself and rested his head gently in the comfort of the pillow. The groggy feeling was well out of his system as the next thing to make its presence known was a headache.

Naruto grimaced as he swung his legs over the edge of the bed to go and find some painkillers. Between the operation to kill Badger and now a hangover, he wasn't feeling very well. Plus the activities of the night before left him with a lot of pain in his back as he remembered getting clawed once or twice by Miltia's long nails.

Walking across his room naked, Naruto strolled into the bathroom and started pilfering through the cabinets to find his medicine. He tore open the bottle upon discovery and knocked back three pills with a painful shudder as he felt something wet drip down his lower back. His hand touched it and for a moment he sighed as a stinging sensation came back to him. His hand returned with a few splotches of red where his aura hadn't been able to fully heal him yet. It sort of proved that theory that alcohol and injuries don't mix well when you're recovering.

Grumbling, he stormed out of the bathroom and looked down when his foot landed on something soft. Without much thought he reached down and picked up the offending piece of clothing as his mind began to slowly return to its normal stasis of none existent pain. He was holding up a white sock. It took all of five seconds for him to process the information. Slowly he returned to his bed where the sheets were drawn up over the sleeping form of someone. Naruto didn't like getting drunk and going home with strange women.

With one fluid motion he pulled the sheet off and blinked.

There, in his bed, sleeping soundly was Melanie, naked as the day she was born.

Naruto looked from her naked form to the offending sock before dropping said item and opting to get cleaned up. He wasn't going to fight her naked, not that it clearly mattered now. She'd already seen him and he'd seen her. But she was a woman and he had yet to come across anyone woman that didn't cover themselves up after having sex and waking the next morning. As far as he was aware, only married women did that. They could be dating and she'd still try to cover herself up in the dead of summer on a day where having even sheets covering your form was too hot to handle.

His shower didn't last as long he would have liked as after getting in and barely getting through washing his tail there was heavy pounding on his door. He could hear the small sound of an unhappy shriek, marking the awakening of Melanie, and he was forced to get out with soap still on his tail. He left it in the shower long enough to hopefully remove it all as he grabbed his boxers and threw them on. When the water was turned off, he grabbed some pants and a plain orange shirt before opening the door and coming face to face with a red Melanie as she stood in almost all of her naked glory.

"Go to the bathroom," he told her. She scooped up her clothing and made a mad dash for the safety of said room. Naruto tore the door open and found a very unhappy Miltia waiting behind it, her hands balled into fists and resting angrily on her hips. Her foot tapped impatiently as he stared at her. "Come on in." She shoved him out the way and started searching the place. "She's in the bathroom taking a shower. Why don't you explain what happened to me last night."

"Why don't you explain why you slept with my sister?" The barb in her voice left Naruto wincing as he noticed how hostile she was being. He truly wanted to explain himself, but decided against it.

"I don't remember much from yesterday after my fight with Yugito." The tapping of her became faster. Her gaze hardened and Naruto was left wondering if he had made a greater mistake than just sleeping with Melanie. Scratching the stubble on his chin, he finally came clean. "We're not dating. We never were. You told me you didn't want any strings attached. Now if I read your message wrong, that's not on me. I'm a guy. I know that's a stupid excuse, but to be fair, every woman I've been around says one thing and means three other things. So you can't really blame me for something you don't make clear."

Exasperated, she threw her hands in the air and stomped around his apartment. "So that's what this is about, huh? I said I didn't want any strings attached! I meant that at the time. But now that I know you… I'd like to be with you."

"Well you're shit out of luck because he's my man now." Melanie walked out of the bathroom with her hair still wet and left in coils around her damp skin. Naruto scoffed and looked away from her. His gaze was still on Miltia as the short haired twin glared at her sister. "Don't be jealous. You told me that you guys weren't a thing. I want to be a thing with him after last night."

"I'm not some trophy for either of you," Naruto told her, finally make eye contact with her. Melanie was covered in only a towel. As if that was going to change his mind. He'd seen her already. He wasn't impressed. Plus, if his memory served him right, she was rather loose. "I was drunk and mistook you for Miltia. That ones' on me, but I do remember you saying you had an itch that needed to be scratched."

"How do you mistake me for her?" Miltia demanded.

"The only thing different about you, beside your personality and fighting styles is your hair length and choice in colors for clothing. Both of which can be easily mistaken when one was as drunk as I was last night."

"That's a shitty excuse." Miltia hissed at him.

"Then what's your excuse for not stopping me and make me understand it was your sister?" He had her there. She could have stopped him at any time from leaving the club with her. But she didn't. She had opted to sit and watch as Naruto inhaled an absurd amount of alcohol with her sister and then, after hearing a few choice words from her beloved sister, left with her. Naruto calmed down and sat down on his bed. Neither sister dared to move to comfort him. "Listen, I'm sorry for the mix up. Last night was anything but joyful for me. And I'm not talking about the sex, Melanie. I'm talking about seeing Yugito."

Miltia smiled and for once, was proud that she had done her job well enough to hold something over Melanie's head. Usually Melanie could get any kind of information from anyone or anything because she was computer smart. Miltia was people smart, but shy.

Nii Yugito was a classmate of Naruto's from his time at the starter school in Atlas. She was a year ahead of him and was quickly pulled before graduating at the top of her class. She disappeared for a year before surfacing again and getting involved romantically with Naruto. The details from there became sketchy, as whatever happened between the two had been behind closed doors, but what was known was that there was another man involved. He used to be a former musician, but it had only been a cover. Older, wiser, the man had been everything every woman wanted if you listened to the media on what woman wanted after getting a few children with a hot young man.

Yugito was then always seen with the same man for years. They were seen in town with another woman from time to time, but they were working as personal guards for someone else that she couldn't get a name on. Whoever the person was, she didn't know, and at this point, she didn't care enough to give a damn about. All she cared about was that a very emotional ex-girlfriend had just shown up and Naruto pulled the trigger without a second thought. Almost as if she had promised him pain on their next visit.

But the other girl was a bigger mystery. Fuu, no last name or one she could find, hailed from Mistral and came out as a top student at her starter school. But before she could even graduate from there she was allowed to enter into Haven and start her career as a Huntress before she disappeared under strange circumstances. What was known was that her Semblance was over the power of lightning and she earned the title Unstoppable Titan for it. Reportedly she had been spotted with a young man that went by the name of Gaara, but held a more noticeable title as the Desert Demon for his Semblance, which gave him control over sand.

If these two powerful people were here for Naruto, then she feared for his safety.

"She's here with Fuu, the Unstoppable Titan of Mistral." Naruto blinked and looked at Miltia as she pulled out a small folder from behind her back. Naruto took it from her gently and started reading it over. "She left Vacuo and its Desert Demon, to come here with her to find you. But I couldn't dig up anything on why she has a different Semblance than what she was shown to have."

 _So I was right,_ Naruto thought with a bitter chuckle. "Thanks. But I think I know why she has two Semblances. Or so I'd like to believe that's the case." He got to his feet and looked the twins over as he put the folder on his bed. He could tend to that later. Right now he had to get ready for a meeting with Ozpin. He wasn't going to put this off now. The man knew something and he was going to get his answers right now even if he had to fight every teacher in that place to get them. "So what do we do about us?" He looked between the two sisters.

"I'm with him…" Melanie said finally, her hands on her hips as if challenging her shy sister to take him from her.

"I was with him first!"

"I heard you say that you were nothing but friends with benefits, right? Or am I wrong?" 

"You are wrong!"

Naruto rubbed the bridge of his noise. This was degrading fast into a cat fight. Any other circumstances and he'd provoke them both into fighting. But he worked with them and he wasn't going to let them just ruin their sisterhood over him.

"I'll be your boyfriend, Miltia." Her face became the highlight of joy while Melanie looked at him with the intent for murder. "Behind closed doors, however, I'll take you both as my girlfriend, but in the public, we're just friends, Melanie. I won't be affectionate to you. That sort of stuff is frowned upon here in Vale. Mistral has different laws in places, so polygamy is acceptable there."

"Really?" the twins said in unison.

"Mistral is a different place with different customs and rules. I've been there enough to know a few people with multiple wives or multiple husbands." The twins blinked and shuddered at the thought of a woman having more than one husband. That just sounded strange when compared to one guy having multiple wives. They couldn't think of a single time in romantic novel that had shown up as anything short of meaningful. "But we'll discuss this tonight. My place. Come back here after work and we'll work this whole thing out, okay."

"And where are you going?" Miltia asked, sounding worried.

"I have a meeting I've been avoiding that I need to tend to." He looked at the bathroom and then to the two girls. Miltia eyed the bathroom strangely and Naruto sighed. "Fuck it." He took his shirt off, locked the door, and threw Miltia onto the bed. She didn't even fight it.

(-)

"You deliberately disobeyed me."

Yugito didn't even flinch at the bite in Ozpin's tone. The man was holding his calm rather well, but it was easy to hear the barb in his voice if you knew what to listen for. She knew what to listen for. They all did. It was one of the greatest curses that came with their roles in life. But she wasn't about to belittle a man that held the power of life and death at the moment. Ozpin was a great many things, irrational was not one of them. Everything he did was calm, cool, and collected. It was another thing that they all knew about him. Even picking up a cup of coffee and bringing it to his lips was calculated, cool, and calm. The only time this image was ever broken was when something visibly shock or stunned him out of it, which was rare.

Her arm in a sling and bandaged from the bullet she took, Yugito was not in any mood for anyone's lip unless it came from Ozpin right now. But if anyone said anything, like how Fuu was gearing up to lecture her again, she might have a few choice words with the hyperactive woman.

"I told you I had this handled," Fuu said stiffly. Ozpin took his glasses off and started cleaning them with his one hand. He wasn't giving up his cane to do something this mundane. "If you had simply listened to me, you wouldn't be hurt and we might not have pushed Naruto away… again. This is exactly what happened last time."

"I'm not going to listen to you, Fuu. Not when we're the same age."

"No. But you will listen to your senior on this. I've been a Guardian longer than you. That makes me your senior. And when I tell you to not go, I mean don't go. You went, I had to follow, and then I had to clean up your mess with my power. Believe me, _she's_ none too thrilled about me using it right now to save your stupid ass. She's just hoping that your Guardian is lecturing you as we speak." Fuu huffed and collapsed on her bed. Ozpin adjusted his glasses and opened his mouth. "Are your beds just as comfy as these ones?" Fuu asked him, a strange glint forming in the corner of her eyes.

"..I don't understand what you mean." Ozpin hoped he could play that off and get back on track.

Fuu might be the oldest Guardian between the two females present, but her mind was still very immature at times. Either this was a coping mechanism or her Maiden didn't lecture her enough to keep her disciplined. Ozpin had heard from Gaara that the current Summer Maiden and Fuu were a little _too_ close, but until he laid eyes on it, he wasn't going to believe it. Didn't help much that all the previous Guardians for Summer fell in love with her. Thank Oum this one just happened to be a female.

Fuu rolled her eyes as she collapsed fully on the bed, a goofy grin forming on her face as a spatter of pink began to grow across her cheeks.

"Idiot aside," Yugito said harshly, hoping for a reaction from her fellow female, only to not get one, "What do we do about Naruto? We need him now more than ever!"

"You will do nothing," Ozpin confessed, his cane taping with authority. "You've already screwed up twice and disobeyed orders. You're lucky that General Ironwood is on our side now or this situation would be worse. He won't be making any plans to take Naruto back to Atlas to stand trial for his crimes, but that doesn't mean he can't throw him in jail here for obstructing justice. I could very well have you thrown in jail since I know you were the one that started it. The club was closed, so you broke in. And then you coerced Naruto into a fight with you. I know that makes him just as equally guilty, but I'm not going to have another Guardian go to jail just because someone has issues with another one."

"Why can't I go back to talk to him? I know him better than anyone."

"You can't go talk to him because you don't know him anymore." Ozpin felt a migraine coming on.

Yugito, like all of the other Guardians that carried _her_ line were always hotheaded. They acted without care or thought and at times got into more trouble than was needed. He recalled a brief moment where the third – or was it the fourth – Guardian brought on two warring towns because she felt her Maiden was in danger. If the Maiden hadn't intervened in the event the present Guardian would have died. And since her partner was already KIA, they needed to find him before anything bad could happen. So losing her last line of defense wasn't exactly something she was keen on doing.

"It's been nearly five years since you laid eyes on him. Didn't you even notice that he has a metal arm, or how he looks at things in a tactical aspect? You can't deal with someone like him. Not anymore. You used to beat him all the time in your spars, but that was five years ago. Naruto isn't the same person you met all those years ago. He's changed… probably for the worst, but he's changed. Let us handle this. Besides, I hear that Bee isn't too happy you went off and left him with the Winter Maiden." Yugito held his gaze for a few short seconds before sighing and turning away to leave. She stomped her feet as she did until she was out the door, Scroll in hand, and dialing a number as the door shut. "Sometimes I regret my life," Ozpin muttered.

"Don't be like that, Professor O," Fuu commanded with a hearty laugh. She sprang to her feet and adjusted her shirt. She didn't fill it out like how Yugito could, but she wasn't bad either. Some women just happened to be lucky in that department or late bloomers. Fuu always said she was growing and that she was a late bloomer. Now she was nearly twenty. If she was a late bloomer, she was the latest one Ozpin had ever known of. "I'll go talk to him."

"Are you sure that's wise?"

"She thinks so." Ozpin rolled his eyes. "They used to get along so well when they were first created, Ozpin. They looked to each other and found comfort in their lives. Remember, three of them were siblings when they were created and brother and sister are right here."

"He hasn't made contact with him yet."

"No, but those feelings can surface regardless. I'll tell him her name and we'll see what he does. Besides, I'm sure she misses him all the same. She doesn't say it, but I know she misses him." Arms behind her back, she suddenly smiled and said, "I really wanna get this over quickly. As much as I like the idea of Gaara roaming about with his girlfriend to reign him in, I don't like the idea of Summer warming her own bed by herself." Ozpin shut his eyes and fought back the mental image of Fuu and Summer naked in bed together. It wasn't so bad, except that both were nearly twenty years his junior and both were very attractive. It made him feel bad and in need of a shower.

"Do what you want. But if you mess this up, know that you will get a lecture as well."

She gave a mock salute and slinked out the door, once more leaving her weapons behind.

 _Kids these days are getting stranger…_

(-)

"Sorry I'm late." Kiba walked through the door looking right as rain. If Junior hadn't been told Kiba had gotten his arm and leg broken, he wouldn't have known it. "I had some issues I had to take care of."

"Like your broken limbs?" Kiba snorted. "So something other than getting your arm and leg broken came up? I dare to think what that was."

"I had to get in contact with someone that was of particular interest to me."

"And who would that be?" Tayuya asked, making herself known from behind the counter.

"You didn't like the fact that I was saved by her when we were dating." That was all it took for Tayuya's eyes to snap open, slam the glass on the counter, and scowl. "And since we're on the subject, you should know she's supposed to be dropping by for a visit. So I really need to get a place or find a way to kick Junior out of his place to impress her now." 

"I'm standing right here!" Junior snapped. "And you're not kicking me out of my own place. I own it." He reached behind the counter and pulled out a folder. "I was able to find a few properties for you, though. You can go inspect them whenever you want. I have their contact information. I hope you have the money for it though. Pretty sure you do unless you just get paid in tips around here."

"I have enough money." Kiba snatched up the folder and skimmed over a few of the places. "Why is there never a place out in the middle of nowhere for me? That's how I lived in Vacuo with my family."

"They don't have a lot of safe places like that around here." Junior told him with a frown.

Vale might be a well-protected place but outside their walls and natural barriers, things were a little less comforting when it came to homes and locations. Vale only had a few small locations that one could safely live in without the threat of Grimm breathing down your neck. Though there were a few places out there, the chance of getting a spot with Grimm activity was rather high. And only a truly insane person would want to live in an area infested with Grimm. Either that or you were very skilled at dealing with them.

Kiba put the folder on the counter and sat down. "I'll go take a look at these places tomorrow before work. Speaking of work," he drummed his fingers on the table, "do you have anything for us aside from guard duty today?"

"I don't have you doing guard duty. You're a bouncer."

"Same damn thing, different words. And don't tell me otherwise. I stand outside, let certain people in and keep others out. If they get to rowdy, I come in, beat them up, and then throw them outside. The only difference here is that I don't get to kill them. That's the only real difference." Junior didn't have the strength to argue against him. Kiba's logic, though crudely put, was rather sound. "So no new jobs for me?"

"None right now." Junior picked up a glass and started cleaning it when a thought hit him. "Actually there is a job you can do. It's a rather simple one. Naruto didn't want to do it, so I'll give it to you." The club owner reached behind his counter and pushed a small business card to him. "That guy you roughed up some two months ago, Roman Torchwick, has been making waves in the underground and has yet to come over and pay me back or tell me the location of my men. I know they're not the best, but I managed to get something on him a few weeks ago and you guys have been rather swamped with work. Since you just got back, I figured you'd want to make some quick lien. How about it? All you have to do is go to this location and tell him to pay while taking a finger or two. I don't care how many as long as he could still write the check or punch in his pin number."

Kiba picked up the card and snorted. "I'll deal with it. I can find the guy, anyways. This will be a cakewalk. Come on, Akamaru. We got some legs to break and some fingers to cutoff." The loud lap of a happy dog sounded somewhere behind the counter in front of Junior and the man sighed.

"No dogs allowed, Kiba!"

"Next time stay outside, Kiba. Akamaru is always welcomed, but not you!" Tayuya added. Junior gave her a sideway glance before he chuckled at her joke. She smiled back and went back to work getting ready for the club opening in a few hours.

(-)

"Hello!"

Naruto came to a quick stop as he looked to his left and found Raven with Richtor. He was looking around for something in the market while Raven looked directly at him. "What's up? Kind of busy at the moment."

"Meeting with Ozpin?"

"Yes."

"Damn! I need someone to watch Richtor for me. They're hounding me about their findings and I can't just leave him at HQ. Not when he's about to get something to eat anyways."

"Leave him in the bookstore. He'll be fine there. I'm sure his girlfriend or whatever she is to him is there." He kept his hands in his pockets as he started walking. Raven missed Richtor perking up at the idea of going to the bookstore. "So I'm assuming you know I had a run in with my Ex last night."

"I figured that out when I called you up in a foul mood two hours ago."

"That was for different reasons." Raven chuckled at the hidden message there and decided to drop that subject. "I'll take him to the bookstore. You go ahead and go back. I'm sure Yang won't be too happy if she sees us together. And I think they're coming to town anyways. She usually does on Fridays after class." Raven had already left and Naruto shut his eyes in complete annoyance. This day was not his day so far. If it got any worse, he'd shot the nearest person. Or he'd just annoy that Fuu chick even more since he was already armed and ready for their meeting. They try anything and he was taking them down with him unless Ozpin got involved. Tactical mind or not, he wasn't daring enough to say he was in Ozpin's league.

Looking back at Richtor, Naruto rolled his eyes and hooked a left after getting the okay to cross the street. He didn't want to go to the bookstore, but damn it if he had to he would. Plus it would allow him to find out a little bit more about the strange girl Richtor enjoyed hanging out with. It was cute to think he had a girlfriend or a crush at the moment, but also very worrying since Richtor was incapable of lying. Bending the truth was a different matter just the same as evading the question entirely. He could do those well enough, but to Naruto's knowledge, Richtor had never once spoken a lie.

The bookstore came into view and Naruto walked inside with a happy Grimm Eater sniffing the air until he bolted to the right and snuck up behind the woman he'd been meeting with for the last two months before the operation to kill Badger had begun. She immediately turned and started scribbling something down on a little notepad.

"Sorry if I'm interrupting anything right now." Naruto made his presence known. The strange mute smiled and bowed to him. "Richtor, when I get back from meeting, we'll go get you some lunch, okay?" Richtor practically jumped for joy at the aspect of food. It wasn't that hard to come by, given their proximity to Grimm. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto confessed, realizing that he had never once given his name to her. She shook his hand and scratched out whatever she had been writing to write something else.

My name is Cream

Naruto almost smiled at the blatant lie from the strange girl and decided to move on. "Well it's good to know he's got a good friend, Cream. I'll be back in a bit." She nodded and started writing some more on the notepad for Richtor to see. Naruto watched for only a fraction of a second before he got chills down his spine. Her gaze shifted to him and in that moment there was a killer look in her eye that vanished only seconds after making contact with him. Naruto walked away with a frown. _I know you're name isn't Cream, Neo._ He moved through the bustling crowds until he was close enough to the bullhead that would take returning students back to Beacon.

"Hi there!" Naruto's hand almost instinctively went for his gun, but he halted and glanced to his right where Fuu was standing smiling at him. "It's so good to know that you opted to come today. I was worried about our little run in from last night would change your mood. But it's nice to see that I was wrong."

"My mood is still sour."

She waved him off. "I was talking about your desire for something else. I do hate it when young men fall for me."

"I bet." Naruto looked around for a moment. Bustling streets aside, this was a very public place and she had already planned on nonviolence since he couldn't see a weapon on her. She didn't even need a weapon either. That was the truly scary thing about her.

"Don't look so worried. This is nothing more than simple talks. It's not like anything bad is going to happen here. We just want to talk. Nothing more. Nothing less."

"Sorry if I'm a little worried about that since the last two times you people have made moves to speak with me, it didn't go so well."

"Well to be fair, you did jump the gun on our last meeting quite literally." She sniffed the air and sighed. "And you brought your guns. Not that I don't mind as long as you keep them to yourself. But please don't try to bring them out on me. I'd really hate to have to do something negative towards you."

"As long as you don't give me a reason, I don't have to." She nodded, accepting his answer. "So why me?"

She jumped on the bullhead and motioned for him to do the same. Naruto relented and followed with a visible scowl on his face. "I suppose the most basic reason is because _he_ chose you. But there's more to it than that." The bullhead lifted off and began its quick journey back to the academy. "You see, when they die, they make a choice on who they go to next. It's sort of like that show about the person that controls weather, but rather than going in a set cycle, they just chose who they want from anyone that's either living or about to be born." She tapped her chin in thought. "I guess that sort of counts as the same thing. Doctors and religious people are so technically on everything, but we'll just keep it simple for now."

 _Simple? Yeah right._

"So what sort of information did they give you when you had your first meeting with them?"

"Only that the process to remove it would kill me if l opted to refuse becoming a Guardian."

Fuu's face became grim and horrified at his words. "Well no wonder you're a sour puss." The bullhead landed and she hopped out. Naruto followed, but kept his hands in on his holsters. She didn't mind. He had a right to be wary of her if that was the case, which it was not the case. "Well I can safely tell you that won't happen. The removal process is painful for some, but no one has ever died. In fact a few of them over the last few years have opted out and had it removed while they were in their late forties and they're still alive and kicking."

"Well that idiot that was Yugito's partner said that's what would happen."

Fuu pinched the bridge of her nose. "Darn that stupid Killer Bee," she said, her voice almost cracking with laughter. "We keep telling him to quit his rhyming, but he refuses and now it's sort of cost us years with you. But we'll deal him later. I suppose you can't be faulted for not understanding that lousy singer or whatever you wanna call his music. I don't think his band is even doing well, to be honest. I think they sort of hit rock bottom at this point. They can't be saved unless they come out with a _really_ good musical number."

Naruto hadn't listened to any of his music and had no comment on the subject. But if he did see the man again, he was going to shoot him, and not because of his music, but because he couldn't stand the idea of his ex-girlfriend cheating on him with some idiot like that.

"So since we're on a touchy subject, we'll move on." She pointed forward like she was making a scene change for a play. Naruto rolled his eyes at her antics. "So do you know the story of the Guardians?" Naruto shook his head. "They really didn't sell this to you at all, did they? Figures. Always leave it to them to screw something up. Yugito is just like her Guardian: Hotheaded and irrational. Maybe that's why they bonded so fast?" She shrugged and continued walking. "So the story goes that when the Four Maidens came into existence, the old man who gifted them their powers grew fearful of what might happen to them. To him, they were the proof of his soul and his desire for something more. So he created Nine Guardians to defend them. Each Guardian was granted extraordinary powers to defend their Maidens, but with an odd number of them, one of them was left out. It was the ninth Guardian, considered to be the strongest of all of them, who opted out and would only defend them when it was required."

"So who has that one? You?"

She laughed. "No. You do, silly. That's why, even without your connection to him, you can't sense us. Believe me, I can tell you where every single one of us our, no matter how faraway we may be. Same works for them. But with _him_ it worked a little differently. You see, he wasn't just strong, he was smart. What's the point in putting himself on a Maiden if she already has two capable defenders? There isn't a reason unless she was going to be in grave danger. Thankfully, his power allowed him to know when such a thing was to occur and he could be there in an instant."

"That is not something I do."

"That's not something _you_ can do right now. And even then, you'd only get one of those powers, but thankfully, that doesn't matter right now. With the way the world works, if you wanted to get to Vacuo right now, you can get there in about an hour or so if you don't count checking your luggage or buying the ticket, along with a passport if you don't have one. But we're getting off topic. So when each of the Guardians took a Maiden, the ninth one wandered the globe, seeking riches and knowledge. He has quite the story on him if you ever take the time to read the many stories on him. But that's the point I'm trying to make. What I'm getting at is that he was left out because he opted to be left out and would only come to their aid when he knew they had no way out. Lately, we've needed him, and sadly, you're not connected to him. He can only watch but not interact. It's very sad."

"Then why chose me? He could choose anyone else he wants, right? What makes me so special?"

"To be honest, I don't know. Mine has yet to tell me what makes me special, so I leave it at that. And to be fair, I've done my research on the previous Guardians that carried her. None of them have anything in common at all. Not like how Gaara is to his predecessors. Each one of them has always had the ability to control sand. It's actual a gift granted to them by the Guardian. It's not a Semblance." Naruto's left eye twitched. That actually explained a lot right there. "Now the story goes that the Guardians would fight to their last dying breath in defense of their Maidens, and this is true. But sadly, when they fall, they can't do the same thing a Maiden does. If a Maiden lives long enough to connect to people, and she thinks real hard on the person in her final moments, her power is transferred to said person. It actively seeks out this person and won't be stopped by anything until it reaches said person. But with them, it's different. They become ether and actively search for a new person to embody. Sometimes this process can take years, other times, it can take minutes. It just depends on if they had already found someone prior to their hosts' death."

"So if I die right now, he's already got someone lined up to replace me?" 

"Probably, but since you're not connected to him, the process might take even longer. Being connected with them grants them more access to the world outside where they reside within us. If I cut you open, we won't find him. But if we delve deep into your mind, past vision and sound, we can find him, sitting somewhere in a world beyond here, like a portal to another place inside your mind, watching with a little window to the outside world. Once you connect to him, that window grows and you can speak to him, listen to him, and he can do the same for the world around you. Think of it like an AI that is turned off and then turned on and you get the picture."

Naruto got the picture. It was a scary picture and not one he liked at all. It just made this whole thing sound worse. At least now that he knew dying was off the table, it made his choice a little bit easier to make.

"But I can tell you right now that if you don't do this, mine is going to be very upset with you." Naruto's face fell. "You see three of them were siblings. Mine just happens to be one of the three siblings and her brother is right beside her right now. And she's so very upset that she can't speak to her beloved brother. Sometimes I think their love went a little too far, but since those were considered the dark ages and bloodlines and kingdoms were in order, keeping your blood in the family sort of went that way. Maybe I'm just reading in to it too deep."

"I'm not dating you."

"That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying my Guardian and your Guardian are siblings with the sister probably having romantic feelings for her brother who was never there for her. Believe me; they've got a lot of history. Ever hear of the story of the Three Soldiers, the Immortal Twins, the Story of the Lost Echoes? Those are them. In each story, the sister falls in love with the brother who is always gone. The only reason it's not brought up in the story of the Immortal Twins is because he was there, but he wasn't a big factor in their story. We're lucky to embody these two because it means we're connected by the same mind that binds them together. They can't separate easily and even though it hurts them in the end, they know what has to be done. They made a promise to each other when they became Guardians that when the day they were no longer needed, he'd give her the answer he promised to give her. But only recently she has begun to fear he knows that this life is eternal and never ending. Such a terrible fate, really. A woman who loves a man who tricks her into the guise that he will be with her when their duty is over, but knows it'll never end. So tragic."

"I get the feeling that he's not as powerful as you make him out to be."

"Oh he's powerful, but that just depends on your definition of the word." She came to a stop and looked up, admiring the construction of Beacon tower. Naruto snorted at it. "You share his taste in decorations, though, if that makes you feel better. No host of his has ever liked this place. It makes them feel disgusted. Sort of like how I hate guns. But that's because my Guardian was considered to be the bravest. When she became a Guardian, she once threw her brother, not your Guardian, like a spear headlong into a Sea Wyvern to kill it. We share that in common. I'm very brave, bordering on suicidal if you talk to my partner, Gaara."

"That explains nothing to me, nor is there a connection there for this place. I simply hate being out in the open like this."

"That's two things…" she said with a giddy smile on her face. Naruto sighed and shoved the doors open to the academy. She followed in but had to open the door since he decided not to hold it. She smiled the entire way until they got to their elevator. "So we're going downstairs because that's where Professor O wants us to meet."

"I'm not getting in that metal deathtrap with you. You've killed people in far smaller."

A goofy grain spread across her face as she remembered the moment he was talking about. "Good times, but sadly, you don't have a choice." Naruto's hand leapt to his pistol. Her hand shot out faster than he could follow and she stopped, a lecturing finger wagged in front of his nose. "Now now! We can't have you pulling a gun out in the middle of a school. That's a big no-no!" Naruto released his hold on his gun as she released her hold on him. "So now that we have that squired away, let me tell you how this will work. We're going to get in the elevator and go down to Ozpin. He was very happy when I told him you were coming. I'd hate to have to resort to violence. Which is why I brought these."

She fished around in her pack and brought out a pair of cuffs with purple glowing bands on them. Naruto bristled.

"They're not for you. They're for me!" She handed him a key and he looked at it questioningly. "I'm putting my faith in you for this. There are two ways this work. I use _my_ power to grab you, put you in the elevator, we ride it down, and you meet with Professor O. The other way is that you put these on me so you know I'm not a threat, and we go down that way together." The joy in her voice was almost too hard to miss. Naruto glanced at the key and then to the cuffs. "I'm in to this sort of thing. Besides, once these are on, you know what they do."

"They shut off your connection to your aura, I know." Naruto took the cuffs and pocketed them. "Third option: We go down like normal people and not an annoyed young man leading a girl that's in to BDSM." She pouted but made no move to take the cuffs back. Naruto stepped inside the elevator and she turned to follow him.

 _Is it so hard to find a guy that's in to this sort of kinky stuff? This is why I'm a lesbian. Summer loves it when I cuff her to the bed._ She punched a button and the elevator doors shut and began their trip downwards towards the bottom levels of the building. "Aside from all of that, the rest Ozpin can explain. But I have a question for you. What do you think my power is?"

Grinding his teeth, the blond watched the numbers fade away from the counter as they kept going. There was a secret base under the school? That didn't seem right. How did they get the funding for that? "I have two possible theories on it since I know your Semblance is over lightning. It's either time dilation ability or time distortion ability." She nodded with an amused smile. "I find it unlikely that you have a time dilation ability because I could still think at a normal speed, because I wouldn't be able to see you. So that rules that out unless it's like the time distortion ability and it's heavily watered down. Time distortion doesn't seem right either because it didn't distort my awareness of time. Plus they have a clock in the club and I was looking right at it. So it's something like that, but I have no idea what."

She clapped and gave him a wide smile. "You're partially correct. To be fair, when it was explained to me by Choumei, it was some sort of time negation ability." Her eyes lingered on his for a moment, looking for any sort of indication to the name. Naruto had none. "But as it turns out that's not the case. It allows me to pull all of the kinetic energy out of everything and render it inert. Ironically, while in this state, I am unaffected by it and thus can move around at "Super Speeds" when in reality I'm simply walking. It's what makes me powerful."

That was powerful. But obviously there was a catch. Naruto could already tell that something of this magnitude would have problems such as range and if something else came in to contact with it. If you were outside the field of its range, then what happened if you walked in. And did it move with her? Something that big that could sap away the kinetic energy of everything in its field shouldn't move. And even then, that field would have to be pretty small, meaning that the range would probably be no more than fifteen meters at most.

"So how did it affect my mind?"

"It doesn't. Everything you see is sort of stuck in your field of vision like the theory of an object being stuck forever in one place and leaving an afterimage long after it was gone. So everything that you saw during the activation of said ability remains, even if it would have already moved. However, once I start walking around, you can see me briefly because I remain in an area just long enough for the image to register with your optics and mind. But by then I'd have already moved and thus, you wouldn't have even gotten a clear look at me. It's kind of unique, actually, but really there are counters to it, otherwise my predecessor would still be alive."

Naruto didn't doubt that it was just the counters. "So what does my power do?"

"Honestly? I have no idea." Naruto wanted to choke her, but from her showing up with cuffs and her lack of enjoyment at not being cuffed made him think she'd enjoy it. The doors opened and they stepped out. "Ozpin is right down this hall."

"So what is this place?"

"The Hall of Insanity." Naruto sighed and reached for his pistol again. "It's a vault." 

He let his gun go and started walking. "And why is there a vault down here?"

"We keep important things down here. Well I see that, but we don't keep anything down here. Ozpin keeps stuff down here. If I had to guess what this was originally used for, I'd say it was used for storage before we had to turn it into a makeshift hospital." The blond licked his lips. That didn't answer any of his questions, but fore the time behind he couldn't openly question her further. He could feel Ozpin ahead of him and was eager to get this meeting done. "One more thing before we go any further. Do you know why we're looking for you?"

"If I had to guess, you're in trouble and need my help. But I'd be lying if I said I care enough to help you. I've got my own problems."

She nodded and continued walking. Naruto followed with one hand on his pistol. The looming pillars did little to put his mind as ease as they walked through the dimly vault until reaching the end where Ozpin awaiting standing in front of a pod of some sort. Naruto didn't bother peering behind him, as whatever he stood in front of wasn't his concern.

"Uzumaki," Ozpin turned in greeting, his staff barely making a sound as it tapped along the floor, "Thank you for coming on such short notice."

"I would hardly call this a short notice since you sent your two assassins after me." He pulled out his pistol and took aim behind himself. "I can feel you back there, Yugito. Why don't you come out and we can talk about the good old days while I break your heart this time around. Sure as hell didn't do me any favors when you broke mine." The shadows detached from the form of his ex-girlfriend as she made her way past him to stand between the other two. "Now if only that idiot would be here, I could put a few rounds in him and really hurt you like you hurt me." She motioned to her arm and he shook his head. "Believe me, I'd do worse to you."

"You don't seem to handle betrayal too well, Naruto. Three, by the way." Fuu commented before falling silent when Ozpin gave her a stern look.

Tapping his cane, the Headmaster sighed and reached out to Naruto as if expecting him to come into his arms. "I know this is difficult, but I need you to understand our current situation. We need your help in dealing with a current threat that we're facing and we'd like to have some help on the matter."

"You could just pay me and spare me the trouble."

"A Guardian doesn't work for money like that." Naruto shrugged. Hey it was their loss. "Uzumaki, I understand that the first meeting had some… complications. I'd first like to rectify those problems. So if you have any questions, please feel free to ask them right now."

"Why me? What's makes me so special that he chose me?"

Smiling and then laughing, Ozpin took his glasses off and inspected them as he answered. "We never know why they chose who they do. Only that they chose people that they fill will help them carry out their mission. Some of them have been very brave, others have been smart. Some of them have had no courage, but find strength and determination to become something more and better themselves. I would dare to say that you were chosen because of your mind, given how you weren't selected until after your eighth birthday."

Naruto thought back to that day. Nothing strange had happened and he hadn't done anything remarkable. He was eight. He looked up to his father and hated him all at the same time. The child in him hated him for never being there when he needed him the most and the boy in him loved him for always being the hero and saving the day for the evil creatures of Grimm. But nothing about that time stood out. There was nothing that he had done prior or after his eighth birthday to signify him as a Guardian.

Slipping his glasses back on, the Headmaster smiled at him. "He saw potentional and a mind worthy of his previous host. You don't know the name, as the man never became a Huntsman, but he wandered Remnant with the soul intent of finding a solution against the Grimm and a way to beat them completely. Before his death he help lead an assault against Atlas forces where they outnumbered them fifty to one and how more firepower than they did. He assault their borders, charged their walls, and stripped them bear with only eighty soldiers and five hundred pounds of red dust explosives. You've seen their walls now, but you've read the history books of their Break Pillar incident, yes?" Naruto nodded with narrowed eyes. It was a lesson to all tactical forecasters and a warning. No one was invicible. "Well he came up with the tactic that was used against them and bested them without losing a single life or killing a single solder. A feat that to this day, no one has duplicated… except for you."

"And how did I duplicate it if no one else has?"

"The White Fang incident and now your fight against Badger." Naruto bristled in rage but his mind cleared and he started to laugh. "You see what I'm getting at now. At the age of ten you stopped the White Fang with nothing more than an empty pistol, bombs you didn't have the access codes to, a fewer people than what they had. And you stopped them without bloodshed and death. I'd say that's as close to his accomplishment as any."

"So that's why I was chosen? An event that he somehow knew about that I was going to pull off that was similar to his last host?" Ozpin nodded with a wry grin. It only made Naruto angrier. "So if that's his only reason, why did he really choose me? There has to be a better reason than that?"

"Sometimes there isn't a better reason. Sometimes they simply don't do their own information gathering or decide to tamper with logic and make someone greater than who they currently are. A previous Guardian was taken without his aura unlocked or his Semblance and he was a simple farmhand on the outskirts of Mistral in a small island nation. That young man never dreamed of being a Huntsman or a hero, but now he is. He walks side by side with a man more legendary than most and wielding powers most could only dream to have. Believe me, I've seen them make choices that have shaken what it means to be a Huntsman and a hero."

"Heroes are people who have died. Only villains walk this land until they are dead."

"Morbid statement of the century," Fuu confessed with a disgusted face.

"It's the truth, whether you want to believe it or not. No one is a hero until they are six feet under, and even then they will still be seen in that same light by the same people. Is the SDC CEO a hero because he provides jobs to Faunus? Yes. Is he a villainous person because he cuts their wages and makes them do the dangerous mining at half the cost with no benefits? Yes. So is he a villain or a hero because he gives them jobs at half wages for a dangerous line of business?" Fuu conceded to his logic and backed off. "That's why I think heroes are dead people and villains are people that still walk this land. I'll never be the hero. I'll always be the villain, just like how you all well be seen."

"True as that may be, it doesn't change the sitatuion we're currently in. We only recently started having problems. Come here and take a look at this. Tell me what you see." Ozpin gestured to the pod. The two girls bristled and looked ready to fight as Ozpin stepped aside from the pod. Naruto holstered his pistol but kept his hand on it as he approached the pod. A woman with a horrible burn mark on her face lay sleeping inside. "Her name is Amber, and she's the current Fall Maiden. We lost one of our Guardians when she was attacked by an unknown group. Part of her power was stolen. This is a first and we fear what it'll mean if she dies."

Naruto touched the glass and for a moment there was pain in his chest. He hurt, but didn't know why. Turning away from her, the pain subsided and he looked at the three. "My condolences," he said softly. "So I'm a replacement until you find the Guardians' new host?"

"At this point, no. I would love it if you would agree to it, but I know that you're _duties_ require you to be elsewhere at times. And that's something we can't have." Ozpin motioned to Fuu and Yugito. "These two belong to two other Maidens. Currently we have them in hiding and when they return to them, they'll be taking them to another location where they'll be safe. But currently we don't know of any location that'll be safe for them. That's where you come in."

"I'm not guarding three random chicks, Ozpin. If you know what I've been doing, you'll understand that I'm not exactly in a good position to split my duties between working for a group that's trying to eliminate all of the Ancient Grimm while doing research on all of the new species of Grimm that have been surfacing." Ozpin nodded and the blond rubbed the bridge of his nose in irritation. "Let's say I do this," he began, earing hopeful gazes from Ozpin and Fuu. Yugito shook her head, unhappy with him. "What happens to me? Do I become it or something like that?" 

"No. You are in complete control of your body. He won't be able to do anything but watch, listen, and talk to you to supply you with his knowledge. The added bonus is that when you get a stable connection between you two, you inherit one of his many abilities. He's been very keen only giving out the same one to people, as when they were created, they were gifted with many. This new power doesn't overwrite your current Semblance and it doesn't boost it either. Think of simply as a secondary Semblance that serves as a more support ability rather than your main ability."

"I'm assuming there's a tradeoff."

"Naturally." Ozpin snapped his fingers. "Yugito, if you could, activate your ability, please?" She looked between the two males and then stepped forward, faraway from Fuu, and did as instructed. "Empty your clip at her." Naruto blinked in confusion. A free shot at the first woman to break his heart? He didn't have big enough gun with him! "If you feel the need to test it, go right ahead."

Naruto fired one round first, dead center into her crouch. If he was going to ruin anything on her first, it'd be that. But the bullet, instead of hitting her, struck the pillar on the far right side of her where it fell to the ground harmlessly. Confused, he aimed higher and fired again. Same thing happened again. Adjusting his aim one last time to her head, he squeezed the trigger and this time the round went skyward and came right back down at her feet after hitting the ceiling. Three shots and three odd misses were a rare thing for him. But if testing was allowed, why not test it further? His eyes turned red and for a brief moment something whispered doubt in the back of his mind. He fired the round and Yugito spun with a scream. Fuu didn't bother turning to her. Ozpin did.

"You shot me, you dick!" She screamed at him.

Ozpin rushed to her side and checked her shoulder where Naruto had grazed her. "So it stops all projectiles from hitting you, but if its magic based, it goes right through it. That's impressive given that there aren't many mages out there anymore." Yugito swore as Ozpin applied some healing ointment and Fuu started smiling. Naruto took aim at her with his powers activated and fired. The round never got within five feet of her. It hit the ground and his power faded away after that. "So magic doesn't affect your power." He holstered his pistol and looked at Yugito as she got to her with a visible scowl on her face. "He told me to empty the clip. Be thankful I decided against testing that on your head."

"I'd have intervened. I was constantly watching where you aimed." Fuu told him with a childish wave.

"Oh that makes me feel so much better, you stupid dyke!" She moaned as her aura began to finally take hold and heal her wound. "Why is always my damn arm you try to fuck up? Is it because I never gave you a good handjob with this arm, huh?"

"We never had sex."

"I'd rather we keep this topic on track and not go off on teen drama," Ozpin told them. "Now that you know what kind of power you could get, do you want to link with your Guardian or reject him? If you reject him, I will have to remove him. And that would hurt us more than you simply not wanting to assist us and keep him."

Cracking his knuckles, the blond sighed. _Well I might as well see how far the rabbit hole goes._ "What do I need to do?"

(-)

"We went on a job together."

What kind of a job?

"A fun job! I ate a lot."

Was it scary?

"No. I'm told I don't get scared because of my mental disability."

For hours they sat and talked about their last few days of activity. Richtor made sure to evade most of her questions on the job he'd done, but she kept going back to it. She was a Huntress in training and had hardly ever taken on any live Grimm before. She had long since admitted to be scared about fighting them, but Richtor being who he was, not a trying to be a brave man either, had told her that Grimm weren't scary because they were just things to be played with. And to be fair, Richtor wasn't lying when he put it like that, as when overeating he did "play" with his food; a notion that worried Raven to this day. Only the Badger had ever managed to eat him, and even then, it didn't really eat him, otherwise he'd be dead. It just put him in its mouth and thought its digestive track would finish him off.

Cream wrote down something else and held it up with a big smile. When can we meet each other again? Are you going away any time soon?

"No. I'll be here for a while." His stomach growled and he whined momentarily. "I'm hungry… I wonder where Naruto is. He'd said he'd be back soon." Cream giggled as he Scroll went off. Richtor couldn't see the message the popped up on her screen or what she replied back with. "You're team?"

Yes. They want to go get something to eat now. I'm sorry, but I really must go.

"Can we come here tomorrow?"

Sure. Around noon okay with you?

"I'm usually eating by then, but maybe I can eat something beforehand." She smiled and got up to leave. She paused, turned to him, and wrote down something else on her notepad. They had spent the entire time talking and little to nothing else. No reading was done. Richtor was rather sad on that. She handed him a piece of paper with a date and a time and a number. "You're number?" She nodded. It was her last piece of paper. No more words from her for the time being. "Okay! I'll see you tomorrow." He pulled out his Scroll, plugged her number in, and sent her his. She giggled and began furiously typing on it. A moment later a message popped up and he laughed. "I'll be fine on my own. Naruto is very good at taking care of me."

Furrowing her brow, she furiously typed some more. Is he your brother?

"No. He's a friend." She made an O with her mouth and her Scroll beeped again. Looking dejected, she sighed and waved goodbye to him, leaving as the clerk said that they only had a few more minutes before the store closed. He watched her leave and then bolted for a book stand on sign language. She had a made a point in their last few visits to try and teach it to him, but didn't stick. That wasn't to say he wasn't trying. _I wonder where she's going today._ He looked at his Scroll as it beeped with a picture of Naruto's face on it. "Hello?"

" _I'm sorry that I'm running late, Richtor. Stand outside the store and I'll be there in a few mintes. We'll go get something to eat and then head back to the Club to get something to drink and some normal food."_ Richtor smiled and began bouncing in place. _"I don't see you outside~"_

Richtor jumped to the door and scampered outside to await his caretaker after paying for the book. It was days like this he was truly happy with the world. Vale was a nice and relaxing place.

(-)

Kiba peeked over the edge of the railing and down into the large metal warehouse that made up the White Fang rally meeting. If he could, he'd snag Roman and drag him out of this place to give him his much deserved beating and then drag him to Junior for his payment. Sadly that wasn't the case as the man was giving a speech that he didn't give to squirts of piss about to listen to. Racist, bigots, people that controlled the government? Yeah, like they were involved in the terrible lot in life for all Faunus? Had this man not been to Vacuo or Mistral? A faunus was married to the second richest man in the world and in Vacuo if you were a faunus and could survive, you were just like any normal person in this world. You could breathe fire out your ass and they'd think you were normal.

If Kiba would give this man any credit where credit was do, it was that he could pump up a crowd with witty charm and quick last minute thinking. He was almost like Naruto, only less sadistic looking and human. He'd hold the human part against him just because Kiba didn't like the guy and couldn't stand him using others to get what he wanted in life. Kiba used other people, but those people were using him, so it was okay. This was just one sided to him. He tempted them with candy and they bought it like a child with an addiction.

But the other reason that he wasn't getting him right now was because Roman was standing in front of a big mech. A big, powerful, loaming machine of death created by Atlas military mind that was no doubt armed to the teeth to fight the true "menace" of the world: Faunus. Yeah fuck the Grimm. Grimm weren't shit when compared to people that could see in the dark and sported random limbs or extra organs to help him them breathe under water or hear a mouse chirp two miles away or anything like that. Yeah, they were a total menace and needed to be stopped.

Such pretty words for a man that Kiba was sure he was going to kill in the next five minutes. Then he'd show these Faunus a true monster, himself, when angered and fused with Akamaru.

Akamaru yawned beside him and Kiba nodded. _I know buddy. I know._

The line of nonmembers began to move towards the front where they'd receive vests and a mask. Kiba didn't hold any illusion that their first job would be do something radical like kill their parents or whatnot. He was sure that that was one of the methods for enlistment into their ranks in Vacuo. Or it had been until they were shut down hard by Shade Academy that didn't stand for their shit. They were still active but they kept to the shadows. No point in picking a fight with a group of people that's first and only option was bomb it to death over talking.

It Atlas taught them one thing during their invasion it was that it was better to blow you away first and then talk over your smoldering remains. Atlas and the SDC hadn't been kind in their takeover all those years ago, and it left a lasting impression on them.

Kiba got up and made ready to fuse with Akamaru when he caught sight of a man beside Roman that had silver hair that stood up and defied gravity, wearing black cargo pants, sandals to match, a white vest, a tattered cloak over his form, a Grimm mask that covered only the bottom portion of his face. He sported a white wolf tail that swished about unhappily at all the new members as they approached to take their respective items. _Hatake Kakashi… What's the Fang of Atlas doing here?_

"Stop them!"

Kiba looked down as a girl with cat ears and long black hair pulled out a sword that transformed into a gun and shot a breaker to destroy the lights.

 _And this day just keeps getting better._

A/N

Holy crap I didn't think this chapter would be this long. We actually had more planned for this, but when we got this far, we realized that we still had a lot more to put in to it and decided to cut it here. There are still two more people to show up that didn't show up here and that's just because how long this chapter was getting.


	13. Busy Day at the Bar

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A/N

This story is entirely fan-made and fictional. Any acts that you might find offensive, disguising, inhuman, wrong or just don't like, we are not liable for. You are reading this story of your own free will and not being forced, if you don't like something we are not forcing you to stay and read it. Please leave the page and re-frame from reading the chapter and or story. All Copyrighted Characters belong to their respect owners. We don't claim anything that is not our own creation and are merely using them for fan made material.

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Chapter 13

Bad news and Naruto didn't go hand in hand. Good news and Naruto went hand in hand. That was like ramen to him. Good news was a thing that made him both pleased and warm inside. Bad news was spilt ramen that left him dead inside and a desire to maim the person that caused said ramen to be spilled.

Right now, he wanted to maim Kiba for taking a job that involved Roman, as he had already figured to deal with him in a few days. Junior had agreed to let him take his few days off from work on the pretense that he would handle Roman when he came back to work. Now since Kiba had taken that job away from him, Naruto was left with a very sour taste in his mouth and a desire to maim the dumb dog faunus that was Kiba. Honestly, if things went any further south toady, he'd probably snap and kill someone. Or failing that, destroy everything around him in a fit of rage.

This was oddly put when one considered what he was doing today anyways.

Naruto huffed and looked at his nails. _I didn't learn a damn thing from those two,_ he thought bitterly.

His training/learning sessions with the lesbian nympho that was Fuu and the always cryptic Ozpin had gone about as well as a newborn learning to walk, talk, and eat with a spoon after birth. Naruto wasn't exactly in the best of moods and learning what his job role would be, which was basically him doing nothing, had wasted the entire day away for him. If he had wanted to waste his day away he could have simply stayed in bed with the twins until he was either conked out or they were.

Stamina King he was not, but that didn't mean he didn't know how to conserve his stamina when needed. Miltia was not truly a dominate type when compared to her more imposing and demanding sister, but she lasted longer than Melanie who worked in quick bursts. Miltia could ride something out for all its worth before satisfaction was given to her. Naruto had his limits, as did she, but she just took a little while for the engine to warm up. Naruto was sure there was a comedian that had made jokes about sex and how the opposite sex was during these things. Men were bottle rockets and women were diesel engines? Naruto wasn't sure if that was the joke or if the joke was that guys were one shot wonders. It would explain a lot about his father and mothers' former relationship before his old man died.

But the satisfaction of shooting Yugito had left him very pleased. If he brought their former relationship to Miltia and Melanie, would they fight her over how she left him for another man that she was seeing while dating him? He hoped they would. It'd make a great cat fight, all things considered.

The story of the Guardians was less than pleasing to hear either.

The original Guardians were all Faunus, or so the story went. The one Naruto held was considered the strongest, yes, but that definition was always misinterpreted, as Naruto had made the same mistake. Power came in many forms, and Naruto had wrongly come to the conclusion that his Guardian, whose name he was meant to find by connecting with him, wasn't the strongest in terms of physical strength, speed, or magical abilities. No. He was strong because he was a tactical planner. As if hoping to tempt him further down the hole he'd already started to venture down, Ozpin told him a story about how his Guardian had tricked two warring towns into peace talks by tricking them with a story that they had both held over the other. Ozpin didn't relay that story to him, but Naruto got the idea that their story was basically something negative that the other had done to them, and as a result, his Guardian tricked them into believing he had come across the story they were talking about and made corrections to it, allowing both towns to be unified for the greater good.

Now obviously, that wasn't a story of heroic tactics or anything of that nature, but it did give Naruto some insight into what sort of Guardian he held inside him. His Guardian was a smart being and a trickster.

"… _did it again, I see."_

Naruto shut his eyes. His fathers' words had always been one of praise and never scolding. His mother had been the one to scold him. At his core, Minato had been a child in an adults' body more often than not, leaving Kushina to pick up the slack as the only mature person around in their life. His father figure was a man that was only a man when the situation required him.

 _I never understood why he acted the way he did until he died,_ Naruto thought sadly. He might have never seen eye to eye with him, but that didn't mean he hated him. Naruto disliked him for his policies and always being away. The child him never understood that and assumed that it was because his father had simply forced himself to be with Kushina since he was considered a "Happy" accident. Young, in love, and not understanding protection had birthed him. They were married two weeks before she gave birth to him. She had proudly shown off the photo a great many times to his friends' parents when the subject was brought up.

A terrified scream sounded and tore Naruto away from his thoughts long enough for him to look in the direction of Richtor and his eating habits. A large Grimm that he could no longer identify lay dying as the adopted child of Raven ate hungrily at its form. It gave one last whimper before it succumbed to death and began the slow process of fading into black smoke. Shame that his insects had already started working long before the process could be fully realized and devoured it.

"I don't think they're anymore Grimm in the area," Naruto told him. Richtor looked up from the bloody pool that he'd been pawing at to look around and then whine sadly. "We can move to another area tomorrow. I know a few other locations that we can hunt for you." Naruto checked his nails and then rolled his eyes as his Scroll went off. Junior's face came across it. "Hello?"

" _Kiba's still not back yet. Think you can come do his job until he gets back?"_

Naruto looked at Richtor as the young man licked at his paws with an almost over excited set of dog eyes like they'd just gotten the best treat they could ever want. _He won't do anything odd,_ Naruto thought to himself. "Sure… But I can only do it for a few hours. I have plans for tonight and then tomorrow I'll be able to take a job or two from you. You said you have some more lined up, right?"

" _Of course, I do. No one else is going to go around freezing various people."_ Cute way to put it, which meant that someone around him he knew was high up there on some important chain or he was getting bad vibes from the people around him. _"When are you coming in?"_

"Now." Naruto hung up and yawned. The day was long and he'd been up a while without his morning wakeup caffeine. Sex and two hot showers did not make one wake up any faster. Just put them to sleep even more. "Richtor, we're going back to the club. We don't want to whip out the Grimm in this area just yet."

"But I'm still hungry."

"You ate eighteen Ursa and four Beowolfs. This will only be for a few hours. If you're still hungry before I'm off, I'll talk to Junior about letting me go early so I can take you hunting again." Richtor deflated and started sniffing in the direction of more Grimm. "Do you want to ruin this hunting spot? This is a White Fang location. All that negative emotion brings them here, but if you eat them all and scare them away with your power, they won't linger here for a few days. You'll ruin the last of your three hunting spots."

Reluctantly, Richtor pulled away and returned to normal. He looked back longingly in the direction of the Grimm he could sense and then jumped at the sound of Naruto whistling for him to follow. It was probably better this way anyways. He didn't want to spoil this land too much. If he ate the Grimm to a crippling status here he'd have to go elsewhere, and he knew Naruto wouldn't be able to follow him. He couldn't hunt them to "extinction" but he could cripple them rather well here if he didn't give them time to reform and repopulate the area after a large feast. He liked him too much to ruin this spot. Plus, Cream was his first real friend and he for certain wasn't going to screw that up.

(-)

Junior put his scroll down and looked at the two patrons siting at the end of his bar. They were speaking with another one of his hires, but the female seemed to be doing most of the talking. He scanned the room again and found nothing out of the ordinary again. He had woken up with the feeling of dread. Last time he woke up like this, Yang had shown up and grabbed him by the balls. He was hoping to avoid another moment like that, even if it had been months since any female had touched him there.

A man sat down in front of him and smiled warmly to him. "Do you make the Winston Cocktail here by any chance?"

Junior eyed the man strangely. He had brown hair pulled back to make it look like he had pineapple styled hair, a scar across his nose, and was currently wearing a dark colored business suit with a dark red tie and the first two buttons of his equally dark shirt left undone. The woman at the end of the counter was smiling his way, but he made no move to acknowledge her.

"I'm afraid I don't make that here," Junior replied, though he wished he could. The stuff was a fortune for one simple cocktail, costing nearly fourteen hundred lien for just one simple mix drink. A margarita was larger than the cup itself. "But I'm sure I can make you a mean mix drink of something else Mr.…?"

"Oh! I'm sorry. I do apologize. My name is Iruka Umino."

Junior hid his surprise well. _What is an Atlas Specialist doing here? Is he here for Naruto?_ "Mr. Umino," Junior motioned behind him, "I can make you a pretty mean mix drink."

"Thanks… I think I know what I want. Do you make a Like Hand Grenade?" Junior cocked an eyebrow at the name and then started laughing. "Scratch that. How about a Sex on the Beach?" He waved his hand and then looked long and hard at the drinks behind him. "I know what I want. How about a Painkiller? That's what I want. Can you make that?"

"Of course," Junior turned his back to the man and grabbed the ingredients for the drink. His gaze swept to the right side where the strange woman was. She got up and started moving their way. She had purple hair that was left down so that it reached her shoulder blades and wore a revealing red dress. When Junior finished grabbed the items for the drink he started mixing it right in front of them as the purple haired woman sat down in front of him. "I'll help you in a second, Miss….?"

"Mitarashi," she answered with a spatter of pink on her cheeks. "Most men don't call me such anymore." He gave her a questioning look. She held up her hand to show a wedding band and he faked a light laugh. "Don't worry about it. My darling husband doesn't wear his band anymore. Too afraid of losing it to his work."

"Oh… I'm sure that your man must be very lucky to be married to a wife that allows him to do so." Junior kept his gaze on the two as he finished the drink and pushed it towards Iruka. The scar nosed man took a quick smell of it and then sipped on it. "So? How'd I do?"

Smacking his lips, Iruka nodded approvingly. "I dare so you're better than the bartender I usually go to back in Atlas. Rodger is very good at making exotic drinks, but he's prices can sometimes be a little too rich for my blood." Iruka sat down a few lien cards for payment. Junior quickly made them vanish. "I don't suppose you could help me with a little problem I've been having, could you?"

Junior looked to the woman beside him. Mitarashi smiled warmly towards him. He could see the evil glint behind her eyes that she hid so well from others.

"What kind of problem?" Junior asked warily.

"First," Iruka took another sip of his drink, "I'd like the recipe for this. I've tried making it and I always screw it up." He gently slid it to Mitarashi and she downed it without a second thought. "Second, can you point us to the bathroom? My wife and I feel as though we're a little overdressed for this place. Shirt and tie in these parts mean something else when compared to Atlas, I suppose. And lastly," Iruka got up and somehow managed to stand imposingly over Junior, despite being shorter, "can you clear out your club?"

Sighing, Junior laughed and said, "Well I can supply you with the recipe for the drink. That's not too hard. As for the bathroom and you being overdressed, the bathrooms are in the back, beside the table on the far-left side, but you're not overdressed for this place." The two nodded with wide grins. "But as for clearing out the place," he shook his head, wincing as he did when he saw Mitarashi give him a sour look, "I'm afraid I can't. This is a Friday. It's a busy night for people that work Monday through Friday and they come here to unwind after work, to hang out with friends, or just party because they're young and dumb. Can't say I didn't do it either, when I was little, but looking back, it wasn't the smartest thing I ever did."

Playing with the glass in complete sadness, she pushed it away and sighed. "Well I suppose it would be bad for business. So how about this instead: How much would it cost to have them all leave right now?"

Licking his lips, Junior did the quick math in his head. On average, he'd rake in maybe somewhere close to five thousand lien in one night, but on a Friday, that could be double or even triple if it was a pay week. Tonight, was a pay week and with a lot of people showing up to start work on getting the festival in order, that meant business would be booming tonight, and his earnings could be even higher. On the off chance, they had that much money to spend, did that mean that they also had the money to spend for any damages they caused in whatever game they were about to play. He'd have motioned to the twins take care of them, but given the short history his mind could remember on them, they wouldn't stand a chance. And worst off, he doubted Kiba and Naruto combined could deal with them.

Iruka was a terrible powerful swordsman who surpassed his father when he was eighteen years old. Despite this, he favored a gun above all others and was considered to be a man who could hit anything with his revolver that was custom made to deliver rounds powerful enough to punch through seven-inch reinforced steel. The specs on his gun were unknown to Junior and he didn't even want to think about the other weapons he "supposedly" known for carrying. But aside from that, his most terrifying trait was his hand-to-hand combat skills. Rumor had it he never lost a fight to any man at all.

On the flipside of that same coin, there was Anko Mitarashi, the Snake Charmer, as her jokingly accurate moniker. Anko was a deadly woman who could charm a blind man with her radiant looks and had the voice of an angel with leathery wings and flaming horns above her head. She had never lost a fight to anyone on record and she had never backed down from any dangerous operation. This was only matched by her penchant for mischief and mayhem that was left to run wild against their enemies. Her weapon of choice was a pair of bladed chains that could cut through anything. If there was one thing he knew about this woman, it was that when she took joy in a fight, you had a slow and easy death. Enrage her and your death was quick but painful.

The true downside to all of this, however, was that if he did kick all of his customers out, he'd have to come up with a damn good reason as to make sure that they could come back again somewhere down the road. No customers meant no cash, which meant he can't pay anybody, and then when that happens, he's out of a job. He liked his job. His job was his life. Another side to this was that if he didn't do it and these two went on a terror, there'd be two good things and one bad thing out of it all. The obvious bad thing would be the cops showing up to get information and that would mean he'd have to hide his illegal stuff again and he didn't want to do that. The two good things were that he'd be in the media, which would mean more people would know about his club and the other thing would be that it would knock Atlas forces down a peg or two.

But weighing all the options, he had to go with the easier one that would be less of a hassle to him in the long run.

Pouring some scotch for himself; the two watched him knock the drink back, sigh, and go to the DJ where he spoke to him for a brief moment. The bear masked man might have been giving him a funny look behind that odd mask but neither soldier could see it.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I do apologize for this brief announcement. We've caught wind of a potential terrorist attack in close proximity to this location. Please leave in an orderly fashion. There is no reason to panic. It is a few miles away from us, but for your safety, please evacuate the area and head home."

The occupants hastily exited the club and pulled out their scrolls to confirm this information. No doubt this would look bad on their part when they got a hold of the media or anyone else, but he could always claim a prank caller told him this to play it off.

"There," he said, sounding unhappy as he turned towards the two, "I sent my customers away at your request. Now what?"

"Now we wait!" Anko said cheerfully. "I'm going to go change out of this dress. I'd rather ruin it, but then again, this thing did cost a lot of lien to get for this little meeting." Iruka nodded as he started fiddling with his tie. "Oh! One more thing. Don't tell Naruto we're here. It'd make the situation worse in the end."

Junior shut his eyes and nodded with clenched fists. Betraying one of his best men hurt a lot, but what was he going to do to them? They were _actual_ soldiers of a highly-advanced military and they were Special Forces Operatives. He couldn't beat them. The twins couldn't beat them. And he was quite certain that even if he fought them with all of his goons, the twins, Kiba, Tayuya, and Naruto, they'd lose that fight.

"…Fine…"

"Splendid! Don't worry about a thing. We're not taking him away from you or anything like that. We're just wanting to talk to him, that's all."

Junior blinked and felt his ire grow. "What she means to say is that we're going to talk to him, but he's going to fight her. I'm just here to see my old student and keep my wife in check. She trained him, after all." Junior sighed. Iruka gave him a friendly pat on the back. "Trust me when I say that she wanted to do this as soon as we got here but I talked her out of it."

"That doesn't make this any easier on me." He shuddered to think what Naruto might think on this betrayal.

(-)

Richtor kept his eyes forward and a goofy smile on his face. Naruto kept his eyes on his charge and a frown on his face.

"Did you have to do that?"

"What was wrong with what I did?"

"Everything!"

Richtor shrugged, not seeing anything wrong with his previous actions as he brought a small piece of meat to his mouth and shoved it all in. Naruto shuddered at the sight of it as he turned his gaze towards their intended path.

They hadn't exited the forest when a woman showed up and held them at gunpoint. Naturally, Richtor just blinked, confused on the idea of robbing two people, one of which was heavily armed, while the other looked nonthreatening. Naruto, tired and annoyed from the events of the day thus far, brought out his pistol and shot her without any remorse or afterthought for his actions. They were close enough to the city that if anyone found her, there'd be questions. Naruto wasn't even willing to put forth the time to bury or hide the body.

So Richtor, in his every so brilliant form of thinking, transformed on the spot and devoured the person.

The blond faunus nearly lost his mind when it all came crashing back on him as he watched Richtor in his original transformed state scarf down an entire female adult, clothes and all, without giving a second thought to the proximity of the city and its border patrols. And since they were now out in the open, the Atlas fleet could see them as well. If they spotted Richtor in his human form before or after his transformation, they might try to capture him. And that was something that no one wanted. Kiba might want it, but that would bring down more fire on his head than he'd like to think or know about.

The reach of their group was far. Far enough that some made up the joke that they could reach into the great beyond to bring you back, torture, and then you back to where you were without anyone noticing it. Naruto had helped a few times in operations where they grabbed someone in broad daylight in a public place and no one was the wiser. It was a very scary thought and not one a lot of people knew could happen. The very idea that you could be holding the hand of your child and not notice that they were taken from you until a minute or two later was a very heart pounding fear that more than a few people experienced each week. Not that they had anything to do with that, but it was a real threat that more and more people neglected to believe until it happened to them.

Rounding the corner, Naruto held his face as he tried and failed to think of a way to explain to Richtor that he couldn't just eat a dead body in perfect eyesight of two major factions, but realized that it wouldn't do any good to hear it from him. "I'll be making the battle plan for our next target soon. Is there anything else I need to know about with that new form of yours?" Richtor looked thoughtful, a funny pose when one considered that he was a very blunt and honest person and didn't exactly have the most forward thinking motives half the time. "Don't worry about it," Naruto finally told him, noticing that Richtor was reaching a logic lock train of thinking. "I'll read the report when they manage to send it to me. But you are okay, right?"

"I feel fine."

Naruto doubted that.

Aside from attaining a new form, Richtor had been hospitalized for a while and heavily sedated to keep him in check. Whatever had taken place after eating or during the eating of the Ancient Grimm had yet to be fully understood. Richtor made several calls to something he couldn't understand while he slept and that he had to eat him in a different way. Naruto wasn't one to believe Richtor for lying, but whatever he experienced could have been his brain trying to make sense of the pain he was experiencing during whatever metamorphoses his body had undergone. His brain was only different from them by two percent. That two percent was a noticeable difference, but not enough to warrant such a strange dream and him having to "eat" his haunt in a different way he'd be used to.

But if Richtor did somehow attain a "Haunt" as it was speculated to have been, how did he get and where did he get it from? The Grimm didn't have souls, or at least not something that anyone could truly understand as a soul. They could hardly agree on the idea that humans and faunus had souls. So, the idea that a Grimm even possessed one was always thrown out the window. But if Richtor did in fact somehow attain one, what did that mean for all the Grimm that were out there? Did lesser Grimm possess a soul as well or did it simply go to the Ancient Grimm?

Naruto shoved the doors open to the club and walked inside. "Go clean up," Naruto told him, pointing to the bathroom as he made his way to the bar. Junior gulped when Naruto slowly made his way to him. "I thought you opened an hour ago? What gives?"

Hei smiled weakly, but Naruto's mind seemed to catch up faster than Junior could speak as he came to a stop and shivered on the spot.

Clapping sounded and Naruto slowly turned to the sound of it with a twitching eye to gaze upon the form of Mitarashi Anko and Iruka Umino.

Out of their formal clothes and into battle clothing, Naruto felt his eye twitch faster at the sight of them. Anko wore a denim trench coat over a black vest and a pair of white pants with tan colored greaves. Her hair was done up in its usual way of several spikes with two small blades to hold the bun in place where her hair coiled.

"So nice to see you again, Whiskers! How have you been?"

Naruto scowled at her before he jumped to the side and spun around to see Iruka.

Gone was his formal clothing, replaced it all with a dark attire that made his form scarier than most normal people. He cloaked his form in dark clothing and wore a cape that covered his entire right side. He wore a mask with glowing white eyes and a hood that did nothing to make his image any better for anyone. On his back he carried a small portable radio with wires poking through to his mask. The sound of metal on the ground was the only way to tell he wore greaves as well.

"Hello, Naruto. How have you been?" His voice was rasped and the white eyes narrowed as if challenging him to make a move. Calmly, Naruto looked to his left and spied Junior and the twins staring at him with worried expressions. "Don't worry about them, Naruto. They didn't betray you." Naruto snarled and reached for his pistol. Out from behind the cloak a massive silver revolver came out and was slowly pointed at Naruto. "Come now, Naruto. You know us well enough to know that your pistol will never reach us. To make this fair, I'll stay out of this fight. After all; it's been so long since we spoke to you."

Grumbling, Naruto holstered his pistol and watched as Iruka jumped from his location to the bar.

"I have no interest in a duel with either of you," Naruto hissed out.

"Then consider yourself lucky; because this isn't a duel. It's a test to see how much you've grown." Anko's grin was vicious. A metallic silver mask snapped into position around her mouth and covered her nose. "Now, let's see what you're capable of!" Naruto hastily pulled his pistol out and felt cold metal wrap around his wrist and the barrel of the gun. Anko might have been smiling behind her mask as she wagged a finger in a lecturing manner. "Now now. No guns allowed that aren't made of muscle."

With a hard yank, she removed the gun from his hand without firing a shot and sent it scattering across the floor. She jumped from her spot and flipped over him as the long metal chain snaked its way back into her coat sleeve. Naruto grumbled and charged her. Laughing, she jumped back three paces and then sprang forward two paces to catch him off guard. Eyes narrowed further, Naruto hit the ground and slid under her high kick, hooking her ankle in the process, and dragging her down hard at the same time. She grumbled something as she flipped upright and tossed a chain out at him. Naruto rolled along the ground, sprang to his feet and felt the chain wrap around his ankle.

 _Damn it all!_

She tugged hard and threw him across the dance floor, releasing him once the chain went taut and whipped him further. Naruto rolled along the floor with a grunt as he hit the music stand hard, leaving a dent in it that left him crumbling to the floor.

Making childish noises, the purple haired woman smiled and did a little dance before throwing both arms forward and releasing two chains with bladed tips at him. Naruto jerked up and backhanded both weapons away. They embedded themselves behind him. Anko smirked and let them pull her forward towards him. Naruto reeled back and let his fist fly. One of the chains snapped loose and Anko did the same. Their fists met and Naruto grunted as the detached chain snaked around to grab his entire arm. Struggling, he reached out with his free hand and took hold of her throat.

Calmly and thoughtfully Anko removed the other chain and grabbed his wrist that held her throat. With a single twist, she yanked his hand away from her and tossed him aside.

"Did you think that in your absence none of us would get stronger?" she asked calmly. Snorting, the blond got to his feet and glared at her. "Where is the fire that was always in those eyes of yours? Are you really dead? Is the child before nothing but a soulless doll like the Children of Academia?"

"I am not a doll, Snake Mistress!" Naruto's eyes turned red. Anko giggled happily. "Naruto Uzumaki is still alive and standing before you, Survivor of Anatolia!" Anko's eyes began wide with delight. Iruka loudly groaned as he reached behind the counter to grab a drink. "I'm going to break you and throw you into the wind."

"You're not strong enough to do what you say, but I like the fire in your voice." She lashed out with two chains. Naruto stared them down and jumped forward, dodging their first strike and flipping through the air to land off to the side of their intended path and jump away to avoid their second strike. With a burst of speed she didn't know he had, he closed the gap and delivered a hard-right hook to the side of her face, sending her sprawling along the ground with now recovery in sight. "Okay," she said with less joy than before, "Let's try that again."

Anko's hand shot out fast and twin chains sprang out to skewer the blond mercenary. Naruto leaned back and avoided the twin weapons. They snapped into the wall behind him and jerked her forward at an alarming pace. Naruto couldn't dodge in time and took a powerful knee to the chest that sent him stumbling backwards with the wind knocked out of him. Her chains dislodged themselves from the wall and snaked around his ankle and neck. She jerked her hand upwards and sent the blond to the ceiling before dropping him down hard on the floor. Naruto coughed as he tried to get back up. She threw him sideways and screamed in rage when he ended up pressed against the bar beside Melanie.

"Take one last look at your lady friend," Anko demanded. "I wonder how many times you were with her? What ever happened to you? Why'd you leave us?"

Gasping for air, Naruto slowly turned her way and raised his metal hand. Anko laughed until she felt a breeze form in front of her. "I didn't like that I couldn't beat you," he told her in a moment of rage. A ball of invisibly compressed air detonated in front of her and sent her sailing backwards. Brilliant mind or not, Naruto was still connected to her via the chains and since they were connected to her, that meant that where he launched her, he was getting launched as well. _Worth it,_ he declared with a minimal amount of joy as the chains went taut and yanked him across the dance floor and at the large doors.

The two came to a stop and Iruka had to sigh as he got up, grabbing his massive revolver and saying, "That's enough, Anko. You had your time with him. Now let me talk to him." She pouted and looked back at the blond as he slowly got to his feet. A grunt ran in with its buddy, alarming the two as one of them shouted something. "Get down!"

The doors detonated and sent debris flying everywhere. Naruto was thrown forward by the blast and hit the ground hard with a loud thud. His mind raced to figure out how it happened until he heard a familiar, and annoying, voice. "Guess who's back!" Yang smiled brightly as she waited for the "warm" welcome she was sure to receive. When nothing happened, she opened her eyes and then stared blankly at the smoking form of Naruto and the rest of the people present. "What happened to you?" she asked Naruto.

His answer was a quick grab of her throat and a straight punch to her gut. She doubled over coughing and gasping for air. "I swear if I didn't live in fear of your dad, I'd kill you right now, Yang." He grabbed her by her hair and threw her violently at the bar. "Now sit down and shut the fuck up." He turned when he sensed the present of another person. "How'd you get dragged into this shit, Neptune?"

"You know me?"

"I know everyone. Now answer the question before I put a bullet between your eyes." To make a point, he picked up his gun that was at his feet, cocked it, and pointed it right at his head, the barrel just barely touching his blue hair.

"Sun got me involved!" He answered quickly while trembling.

Naruto lowered his gun, unhappy, but content to know how fast the man would answer him and how terrified he was of him. "Yang," Naruto pointed the gun at her. She had recovered quickly and was already charging him for a rematch. He sidestepped her slow punch, grabbed her hair, yanked her down, and put his foot on his throat while aiming his gun at her head. "Why are you here? And do keep in mind that our last ended rather unsavory for you. How was your trip to the ER by the way? I understand that when they found you, they thought you were dead."

"…It sucked…" she confessed with a cough as she fought to remove his foot. He was a lot stronger than she'd give him credit for. She could see he was waiting for the answer to his first question. "I'm here…" she started coughing as her face started to turn blue. Why weren't those other two helping her right now? "…information on Torchwich…" The mercenary took his foot off her and she rolled over coughing. "Jerk…"

"What sort of information are you looking for?" Junior asked. He could work with this. It wasn't going to be hard to get something out of her. Maybe he could finally drive her off if she was willing to negotiate without the need for violence.

She rubbed her throat with one hand while the other checked her hair. Damn Naruto was going to pay for that one when she finally got the chance to do something to him other than be a punching bag. "I'm looking to see where he's been and what he's been up to. The last time I saw him was when I came here looking for information the first time. I know you lent him some of your men. So where is he now?"

If looks could kill, Junior feared he'd be a dead man with the way Iruka was sizing him up. "I don't know where he's at," he half lied. He knew where he had been a few weeks ago, but then he disappeared off the face of the world. Now there was no telling where the man was. Kiba hadn't gotten back to him and he doubted that the guy was stupid enough to break cover if he was hunting him down right now. He wasn't about to answer a call or make one.

"How do you not know?"

"It's the truth," Iruka told her. He tore his gaze away from Hei when the man looked his way. "I'm an Atlas Specialist, so you know, and I dabble in interrogation. I know when someone is lying. He's not lying, mostly. I'd wager you lost him at some point and have people looking for him right now, right?" Junior nodded, happy that the man wasn't about to try and arrest him for something like that. "I'd help you, but we're sort of off the clock right now. Why? Is something going on with him that we don't know about?"

Yang sized the man up and then his wife as she stepped up beside him. Junior she could handle. The man already feared her. He wouldn't take much convincing to change his ways or give up information when prodded properly. But these two people were different. They were hard, guarded, and ready to act even without their weapons drawn. She knew she couldn't take them. "He's working with the White Fang," she confessed. Those present blinked.

"Explain, idiot," Naruto demanded, his patience finally at its limits.

Yang frowned and when his hand reached out she relented. "A while back we caught him working with the White Fang at the docks when they tried to steal a large shipment of dust from the Schnee Dust Company. Blake and Sun prevented this, of course, but we know he's working with them because Blake said that he told her they were working together. And since the White Fang has been stealing dust, something that they don't truly need in abundance like they have currently, we're looking in on what they might be planning."

Anko gave a quick knowing glance to Iruka before relaxing. "There are other dust robberies that we've caught wind of back in Atlas and all across Vale. You can probably find reports about them on local media sites, but there are a few things that they have stolen that have only reached ears in Atlas." Iruka inhaled deeply as she continued. "Recently an R&D lab in Atlas was hit that was working on new weapons. It made the media stir-crazy that a group of terrorists were able to steal millions of lien worth of hardware, weapons, and other tech that hadn't hit the market yet. We don't have any leads on where they went with the tech or what they're doing with it."

"The small stuff that was stolen in abundance was meant to hide their real object," Melanie confessed with a timid voice. The two turned her way. She looked to Naruto and Junior for support. Naruto stepped her way and gave a nod. "If you didn't know about it, then obviously someone isn't reporting their findings to you or you do know and can't tell us. But if they're hunting down Roman," she turned to face Yang, "you need to know that he has the new Atlasian Paladins with him. A large shipment was stolen a while back and it has their military up in arms right now since they are the most advanced pieces of weaponry they have at this point in time."

"How did you find that out?" Iruka asked. He shifted his gaze to Junior but it was Miltia that answered.

"A man in a uniform showed up the other day and got drunk. Naturally, being the concerned person that I was, I asked him what was wrong. He told me that you lost a few dozen of these things and I shared the information with Junior and Naruto. How did you lose these toys to begin with? And even then, we know that they're already out on the frontlines defending your homes. So why say that they're not out yet? You might want to talk to the man that makes Ironwood's speeches."

Yang sighed and looked to her partner as the blue haired man kept eyeing the twins. Naruto turned his focus on the guy and waited to see what was going to happen when the door to the bathroom opened up and Richtor walked out licking his hands. All eyes turned to the strange teen as he finally took notice of them and then waved awkwardly before saddling up beside Miltia, much to her annoyance. "What'd I miss?"

"Did you… Did you not hear the commotion that happened in here a few minutes ago," Junior asked him. Richtor blinked in reply before Junior gave up and accepted that the odd teen was just that: Odd. "You have your information now. So get out of my club before I forcibly throw you out."

"And what makes you think I'm not here to buy a few drinks as well?" Junior considered hitting her right then and there, but a stern look from both of the Atlas soldiers put a damper on his idea of sweet revenge for the time being. "It doesn't matter. I have what I came for. If you don't know anything, then that just means you aren't as all-knowing as you make yourself out to be."

Hei shook his head and watched the two teens leave. With them now gone, Naruto scratched at the crown of his head before saying, "I'm seriously going to have to have a talk with her mom, soon. She keeps this up, I'm going to break her neck."

"I thought you feared her dad?" Melanie asked him.

"No. Her dad, while strong, has spent years not doing operations. He's been a school teacher, and his form isn't what it used to be. Besides that, he's smart, but I'm smarter and I can take him. It's her mom I fear." Naruto hopped over the bar and started grabbing stuff to make a mix drink. "So as soon as I down this, I'm leaving to take my friend shopping. From there I will go home, be left alone, and sleep for twelve hours. If anyone tries to wake me up, you will be shot."

Knocking the drink back and waiting for protest, Naruto smiled in glee as the warm liquid began to have its immediate effects of clouding his mind and numbing him to the incredible pain that Anko had put on him. If things had been different, he would have made greater use of his Semblance. Shame that he couldn't use it here to its fullest effects, but it wasn't like it would make a difference against her. Her Semblance might not have as many uses as his did, but it was a bit hard to avoid when compared to his.

Slamming the drink down, Naruto pointed at Richtor. "Let's go get you something to eat and then we'll…"

The wall to the club detonated into a ball of fire and molten metal that rained along the ground. Loud bangs followed soon after along with screaming and the reeving of an engine. A moment later a large mechanical monster that was the lost tech owned by Atlas in the form of their Paladin.

" _Get back here you stupid animals!"_ One Roman Torchwich screamed from somewhere, most likely in the war machine that was rampaging through the city.

Junior cried for only the briefest of seconds before his face became a look of pure rage. "Kill him," he ordered, his voice louder than anything it had ever been. Naruto grabbed the vodka and took a small swig of it out of the bottle before jumping the counter to go hunt down an arguably smooth criminal.

(-)

Kiba braced himself against the wall as Akamaru bit the throat out of a White Fang member that got too close to his master. Gasping for air, the dog-eared Faunus slumped down holding his side. When Akamaru returned, he got out his Scroll and dialed a number. A minute later there was an answer and he breathed easier. "Tayuya… Listen to me now. I need you to come get me. Use my Scroll's GPS feature to find me."

" _What happened?"_ The seriousness in her voice was evident.

"He's here. Kakashi, the Fang of Atlas, is here. I couldn't beat him." Akamaru whimpered beside him. Kiba smiled and then looked down. A pool of his own blood had slowly begun to form around him.

" _Why did you fight him?"_ There was furious typing in the background. Whatever she was doing was now being hastened. _"I found you. Where is he now? We can't let him escape!"_

"I don't know." He blinked tears out of his eyes. His vision began to blur and he tasted cooper in his mouth. Akamaru whimpered loudly and nudged him. Kiba grimaced as he tried and failed to get up. Deciding that it was better to just sit there and wait for backup instead of get up and walk to a more secure location. "Hey…" his voice was horsed. "I need to stay awake. Keep me talking." He blinked and he could see lights in the distance. He dropped his scroll. "…She's come here… tomorrow…" He slumped to the side and promptly passed out.

(-)

Roman grimace as the ringing in his ears began to die down. He clicked a few buttons and then smiled as the lights flickered back on. _Well, I'll give Atlas credit now. They do make some good suits. Too bad they're not as advanced as Ycarusa Industries._ With power back and the HUD coming back online, he glared at the four girls that were now causing him to have a very bad day. His day had started out so great. He woke up, had breakfast, ordered a bunch of the White Fang animals around, and managed to get himself at their next big meeting where he could proudly display their power and his cunning abilities to the new, young, impressionable little terrorists that made up the White Fang. Sure, they didn't like the fact that he was a human, but that wasn't what drove them here. What drove them was that they could finally have some real, honest to goodness, backing that they so desperately needed to win their little fights against their oppressing human counterparts.

Did he enjoy oppressing them? Yes.

Did he enjoy the fact that they were told he was the key to their victory? Yes.

Did he enjoy the fact that his big meeting and previous crimes were now ruined, all thanks to some little girls with hero complex? No.

Did he enjoy the fact that he was about to get sweet dick-kicking revenge on four little girls with hero complex? Yes.

Grabbing tightly on the controls; he grit his teeth and wished that just for a moment he could pop a new cigar in his mouth, as he opened up with a few missiles fired their way.

The girls scattered and started peppering the hull of the machine with as much firepower as they could that range from long-range shotgun shells fired from the explosive blond, small 9mm rounds from the cat faunus, over-sized rifle rounds from the little girl in red, and magic spells from the Ice Queen. Sure the machine was taking damage, but it wasn't enough for him to worry about. He'd already been dropped head first from the freeway above them and that did little more than rattle his brains a bit. He was fine and the machine was fine.

He could totally win this fight.

A thin beam of light appeared in the cockpit and the fighting stopped as Naruto appeared with a scowl on his face. Roman looked at the beam of light an found the hole from wince it came. He stared in amazement at it, really. The idea that a tiny round fired from a pistol could cut right through solid steel on this machine was laughable and damn near not possible unless you were using a anti-tank rifle. And he sure as hell didn't see one on any of them right now.

"Roman Torchwich!" Naruto yelled his name. "Get out of your machine so I can put a bullet in your head!"

" _Don't you mean, "Or I'll put a bullet in your head," kid?"_

"No because that would imply that you have a chance to live through this!" Naruto took aim with his pistol and fire again, his eyes blazing red as the round fired tore straight through the hull of the machine and left a worried Roman inside. "I'm not sure if you're in there right now, I sort of him hope you aren't to be honest, but when I find you, I'm going to kill you slowly!"

Roman armed more of the weapons and took aim at the mercenary when his vision went sideways and his machine was on its back. He cursed and adjusted himself to see Anko and Iruka with weapons at the ready. _Atlas Soldiers are here?_ It made sense that they'd be here. Their General was here. It wasn't like a General/Headmaster would leave his Kingdom without some of his troops and toys. But still, the fact they were here wasn't something he had counted on.

Wiess formed a glyph and attacked the machine with five tethers of white energy that detonated when silver glyph of the same design appeared in their path. Eyes wide, the white-haired teen turned and saw the masked form of Kakashi as he slinked out of the shadows with his hand extended. "Fascinating power. I never got to try and get it from your sister when we fought," he said quietly to himself. He flexed his fingers and the array grew in size until it was twice as big. A dozen tethers of silver energy formed out of it and raced forward with pinpoint precision towards the young heiress.

Anko lashed out with a chain and snatched her out of harms' way. Kakashi inclined his head to where the two adults were waiting for him to attack again. "I thought you were still in Atlas, Traitor!"

Kakashi turned his attention to the four young girls and looked them each over with a piercing gaze. He blinked and turned his focus to the machine and its pilot. "How do you hope to live up to your words if you have issues dealing with two Atlas soldiers, four girls, and a man with no conviction." Naruto bristled at his worlds. Roman stuttered. "Never mind… I'll make sure to report this to Adam. I'm sure he'll take great pleasure in listening to your failures some more."

" _Now look here you stupid-Hey! Where are you going?"_

"To solve your problems."

Ruby dashed forward and then flew backwards as Kakashi did the same. A quick chain from Anko and Ruby was back on her feet and out of harms' way when Kakashi followed up his attack with another dash of super speed. The four girls were flabbergasted as to what they had witnessed until a deafening roar sounded over the area. Naruto turned sharply. _Shit…_

Richtor barreled over two turned over cars in his massive hulking red form and threw a punch at Kakashi. The silver haired man ducked out of the way and jumped up his arm to kick him in the side of the head. Richtor screamed started clawing at the man in the hopes that he might grab him and throw him off him. No such luck as Kakashi proved to be too nimble to catch. Naruto opened fire on the man and forced him away from Richtor and put him away from him by a large range. Naruto scanned the girls over quickly before sighing.

Anko and Iruka started taking shots at the man to force him back further. Anko kept her eye on the strange red Grimm that had shown up to fight. Richtor looked at Naruto and then the people behind him. He wined and then looked back at their target as Kakashi slowly drew his tanto that was on his back. He looked it over for a short second before dashing forward at super speed only to come to a quick stop and bolt to the left as Naruto fired a round off. The round ripped by the silver haired man and the air speed generated and amplified by Naruto jerked him backwards.

Kakashi rolled to his feet and punched the ground as Naruto and Iruka opened forward him. The rounds veered off course and slammed harmlessly against the stone pillars behind him. Grinning behind his mask, Kakashi got up and gave his sword a test swing before swinging it directly at the group, sending chunks of earth up and a blade of invisible wind racing at them. Naruto countered with a blast of similar wind to cancel them out. Kakashi gave a nod of approval before Richtor busted through the cloud of debris and punched the spot where the man had been.

"I'd say I'm impressed with how quickly you figured out what I can do, Naruto, but I know that you already figured it out when you started working with that group of yours." He checked his blade. "Tell your dog, that next time, they shouldn't send a puppy to deal with me. Send a wolf. You'll get better results."

 _So Kiba is dead or dying somewhere… Terrific._ Naruto stood up straight and look back at the girls. They weren't having any luck either and Kakashi was making sure of what right now as he bolted over their heads and slashed the air in front of. Anko was forced back to guard duty and yanked the girls out of the way. Roman took advantage of their confusion and Anko's positioning to hit her once with the cannons from the main guns. They didn't break her aura, but they sure as hell knocked the wind out of her.

Naruto chased Kakashi down and slashed at him with his pistol that he transformed into a knife. Kakashi countered with his tanto and began fighting with the blond in front of Roman. The criminal took aim and then careened sideways when Yang jumped on the top of the machine with a hard toss from Ruby and Wiess while Blake snagged his legs with the wrappings of her weapon. The guns fired and smacked against the hard skin of the Grimm Eater, making him cry out in rage as he moved towards the machine to begin throwing it around and attempting to rip him apart.

The White Fang member grabbed Naruto's head and brought his knee up to his face to smash his head hard. Naruto reeled back and Anko jumped in, kicking the man in the chest and sending him sliding back. Richtor landed beside him on his back and howled he took another set of missiles to the chest. Burned, but still in the fight, Richtor gave a defying roar and grabbed hold of Roman's toy as he began ripping away at its weapon systems.

Roman screamed as the alarms began blaring for hull breaches and weapon malfunctions before he got his bearings well enough to punch the enraged monster off him and catch Naruto flying back first in to his line of sight. The form of Naruto smacking against the hull of the machine put a dent it in and one that Roman could see well enough on his side of it as his entire monitor bulged forward towards him and left him slightly worried.

Naruto fell to the ground and was yanked out of the way by Anko as she crawled to the safety of the shadows. Naruto got to his feet and watched as Kakashi began tearing apart the girls with Naruto's captured Semblance. "We need him to switch Semblances again," Naruto told her.

"He gets mine, we're dead," she told him. Naruto nodded in agreement. Anko's Semblance might be the one thing they didn't truly want Kakashi having access to. Keeping her from using it was definitely for the best. Richtor screamed and finally managed to grab the White Fang member and throw him away from, sending him flipping through the air and landing perfectly on top of the stolen war machine. With a loud bang, Roman fired the remaining cannon directly at the monster, covering him in a cloud of smoke and ash for a brief second. When the dust settled, Richtor blinked and snarled his way. "What is that thing?"

"An asset of mine," Naruto told her quietly. It was best to avoid a problem now and face the problems later rather than face them now and deal with longer, more in-depth answers later. Right now, they had to beat, capture, or kill Kakashi and Roman. Getting help from Grimm certainly wasn't something anyone was going to complain about. Richtor charged towards the two only to stop when Yang came flying out of nowhere and delivered a powerful haymaker right to Kakashi's face.

Kakashi sailed backwards and straight into a support pillar for the freeway above them. It crumbled and the silver haired man fell out of the dent and hit the ground hard. Yang stared at his prone form with burning red eyes before she shifted her hateful gaze upon Roman and his busted machine.

Yang heard Naruto scream something and when she turned back to Kakashi he was already on her with one fist in her gut. She doubled over hard and flew backwards, crashing into Weiss and knocking them both to the ground hard. Weiss rolled the blond over and found her out cold with blood dripping down from the corners of her mouth. Ruby and Blake moved to defend her as Kakashi flexed his arms and then started laughing. Naruto took aim at it him with Iruka and opened fire.

The tanto returned and with great precision he blocked each of the bullets until both weapons clicked empty. Smiling, he took one step towards them and stopped when Richtor swung a hard punch his way. The ground cracked under the force of the blow, but Kakashi remained upright and most likely smiling behind his mask.

"Get away from him!" Naruto yelled.

Kakashi grabbed hold of Richtor's wrist and with a single tug ripped his arm off at the shoulder. Richtor blinked, confused as to what had just happened before his torn off arm was suddenly hitting him in the side of the face, sending him sprawling away and bleeding heavily.

Grouping up, Ruby turned to two adults. "What's going on here?"

"Kakashi can steal other peoples' Semblance," Iruka explained. "It's what makes him so powerful. Right now, he has Yang's Semblance." He looked to Naruto. The blond was furiously thinking of a way to get everyone out of this situation or failing that, get Richtor out. The poor teen had yet to get up and was left whimpering as he bled out on the cold earth. "We might not get out of this unscathed anymore." 

Naruto looked from Kakashi to Ruby and then he weapon. Without another thought he snatched up her oversized gardening tool, stabbed the blade into the ground and took aim. Kakashi actually looked worried as Naruto's eyes blazed red while he pulled the trigger. To his own credit, luck, or just simple craftsmanship to his weapon, Kakashi blocked the shot with the tanto and felt his feet leave the earth as the bullet forced him back and then up due to the wind currents Naruto put over the weapon. Kakashi went through two stone pillars before the bullet lost it's momentum and left him stuck in another pillar for all of two seconds before gravity kicked in and dragged him down. He hit hard struggled to stay awake.

Turning his sights on Roman, Naruto fired once and removed the arm of the machine. The second took off a leg and the third shot ripped right through the cockpit, catching the machine awkwardly and forcing it to spin hard as it smashed into the ground. Roman was flung from the machine got up dusting himself off before raising his cane to take shots at them. His shots were on target but he couldn't tag them directly as they kept deflecting or dodging his shots.

Handing Ruby her weapon back to better equip her for combat, Naruto reached to his back and withdrew his own scythe, much to Ruby's amazement and the displeasure of Weiss. "Roman," Naruto called out. "Get over here so I can kill you slowly. Junior wants you dead and I'd like to end you simply because it'll annoy my friend more than anything. So how about you come over here and I'll just slice your throat very gentle like."

A groan sound and Naruto swore as he watched Kakashi get back up and slowly begin heading their way. Yang slowly got to her feet to see Kakashi heading towards them with an angry glint in his eyes. Huffing, she gave a battle cry and charged him. Kakashi came to a stop and caught her fist with little effort. Yang's eyes shot open in fear as the man raised his other hand to deliver a killing blow with his weapon.

The earth slide sideways, knocking Kakashi off balance as Anko jumped over the blond and kicked the man in the face. He stood his ground by releasing Yang and planting one fist in the earth and with the other taking a swing at the blond with his weapon. Anko flipped backwards and avoided the swing while releasing his chains. Kakashi juked to the left, jumped high, landing beside Roman before shoving the man away and then jumping forward towards them.

Naruto grit his teeth and reached for his second pistol when he saw reality distort and saw his body on the ground dead with the Tanto in his head. Confused the images he saw came to life and he saw Kakashi hurl the weapon to the left side of the blond. Naruto jerked to the left and took the weapon to the head.

Reality returned to normal and Naruto jumped the other way. Kakashi released his tanto in a vicious throw that nearly speared Weiss through the gut. The quick actions of Iruka saved her life when he raised the earth in front of her to stop the weapon and vault over it with the heiress doing the same, and unleashing the full totality of her powers on the man. Kakashi jumped back and back peddled away from the group as they got their bearings and started attacking in unison to keep the man on his toes and try to take him down.

Finally managing to put some distance between and realizing that Roman was away from him, Kakashi snorted and looked back at the group. Anko unleashed her chains and started cutting up the land in her attempt to kill the silver haired Faunus. Kakashi was too quick for her to slice him apart with her chains or Semblance. Naruto screamed bloody murder and swung his scythe in a wide arc. Kakashi was momentarily confused before he remembered what Naruto could do and dropped. The pillar behind him made a strange noise and then a thin line formed on it as Naruto's wind cut clean through it. Kakashi jumped to his feet as Naruto's eyes turned fully red and he brought his weapon above his head.

"Hatake Kakashi! I! Will! Kill! You!" Naruto slammed the blade of his weapon into the earth. For a moment, nothing happened. Then the earth rumbled and exploded in a large line heading straight for the man. Kakashi moved away as the invisible wind tore up the earth and shredded everything in its path as the blond went on a warpath to kill him. Naruto was well and truly mad to the point of irrational thinking. He swung his weapon repeatedly, each swing destroying more of the earth around him in his mad attempts to end the man.

Realizing that Naruto was off his rocker, Iruka moved the earth beneath Naruto's feet and knocked him off balance while Anko grabbed him up to keep him from hurting innocent people.

Seeing his chance to escape, Kakashi jumped high in the air disappeared from sight. Naruto break free of Anko's hold and looked up to where the man might have gone before calming down. Putting away his scythe, the blond sighed and moved to Richtor as the teen wobbled in his direction.

"Holy shit," Yang said as she looked at the behemoth form of the teen. "Is that a docile Grimm or something?"

"He's something else," Naruto told her. Iruka raised his revolver and pulled back the hammer. Naruto his eyes and drew his second pistol. Iruka looked surprised but somehow was accepting. "Leave him to me, Iruka. You wouldn't understand." The man blinked and looked to the monster a few more times before lowering his weapon. "I'll meet you back at the club. I'm only returning to catch up, okay? Nothing more. And nothing less." With that, he started walking with Richtor following after him.

The two adults and four girls looked at each other before turning their gaze south. "So now what?" Ruby asked.

(-)

"This was a great idea!" Ruby cheered.

Junior was not one to agree with the little bundle of joy that was Ruby Rose, but at the moment, he was more than happy to just have someone around that was very cheerful despite the damages that had been done to his place, the fact that he was now out around twenty thousand lien, and the simple fact that his idea of terrorists being in the area might have had been the whole reason this all happened to begin with. But hey, at least he wasn't having to work the bar right now. Anko seemed to know exactly what she was doing.

"So what do you all want to drink?" she asked. She'd ditched her coat in favor of a plain teal colored shirt that read "FBI" in bold letters above "Frequently Bad Individual" in yellow.

"Water!" Blake said with a groan, unhappy to be in a place of illegal business acts, cheap smelling drinks, and smoke. Honestly, she could imagine Yang coming here and maybe Weiss's father if he needed something done dirt cheap that was illegal, but how did Weiss even manage to stand this place, let alone have Ruby not understand that this was a hotspot for criminal activity and other inappropriate underage things that a fifteen year old shouldn't be exposed to.

"Strawberry sunrise with now ice!" Yang exclaimed.

Weiss looked at the selection of drinks behind the counter as Anko started making the drink. "Do you have Moscato?"

Blake threw her hands up in the air in complete annoyance. Ruby looked around and then said, "I'll just take a glass of milk," to which Anko shrugged and ducked under the counter after handing the first three drinks out. "So how do you know about this place? This is the second time you've been here, Yang."

Yang coughed on her drink and looked at it funny. "Stronger than normal… Holy crap that's strong." She punched her sour chest to start coughing and calm down from the surprise taste of the drink. "I came here once for information on someone. Didn't find anything. Turned into a fight."

"A fight that Naruto won without really trying," Miltia pointed out with a thoughtful expression. She shut her scroll down and pocketed it as Naruto walked through the large hole with Richtor behind him. The teen was without an arm, something that Anko and Iruka noted immediately but opted to keep quiet on, while the girls were less than aware of it at start. Naruto sat down beside Miltia and banged his head on the table. "You okay?" she asked, rubbing his back in the process.

"No," he said bitterly. Anko slammed a drink down in front of him. He starred at it and then at her. She inched it forward and smiled. "What am I? Twelve?" He downed it and slid it forward. "Bigger glass and stronger, Anko. You used to get me drunk all the time back when I was still in school."

"Good times," she said with a laugh as she got a bigger glass and made him his new drink. She eyed Richtor as the teen kept staring at Yang. Yang hadn't picked up on it yet and was just started to feel the effects of her drink when Ruby's glass of milk was presented. "So who is Kakashi? And why is he so powerful?"

"He's an Atlas problem," Iruka told her. "But as to why he's so strong. He was trained by the best to be the best and it all backfired on them." He downed his own drink and rubbed his forehead. Kakashi had gotten him pretty good as well. He was happy to have survived the encounter. Not many people could face off against that man and live to tell the tale. Just the fact that they came back relatively unscathed was a miracle. "But as to why he's here," Iruka shrugged. "I haven't a damn clue."

The group fell into silence as they sat and drank their drinks, fuming in their large loss at the hands of two men. Naruto downed his drink and started reflecting on what he had seen and trying to make the most of it when he heard Tayuya's voice. "You idiots got any bandages left?" she asked. The group turned to see her holding Kiba up. The poor guy had one foot in the grave with how he looked. Junior grabbed the med kit as Tayuya sat him down on the table. "You look like you know, but if you don't, Kakashi is here." Naruto nodded and she nodded back. "Of course you know. I assume you're the reason the military is going crazy and the cops are out in full force?"

"Kakashi is working with the White Fang, which we all know about, but he's also working Roman. Roman had access to stolen Atlas tech and just demolished the city to get these four girls." 

"I didn't peg him for a pedo, but I get them wrong sometimes." They took off the remains of Kiba's shirt and began stitching him up. Anko walked over with some salt and woke him up. He screamed and had a bottle of vodka shoved in his mouth. "That's not gonna really numb the pain for him." Anko gave her a flat look. "He's got a piece of metal wedged in his left hip. I'd take him to the hospital but…"

"It's being covered." Naruto motioned to Richtor. She blinked and took notice of the five extra pounds he was missing in the form of his arm. "A few minutes and she'll be here." Tayuya looked at Yang as the girl watched her sister begin to make odd noises and funny faces. "She's not going to be happy."

"I don't really care right now. Roman has access to things we didn't know about and Kakashi is here. That's not a coincidence." 

"You think they're making a move?" Naruto shrugged and watched as Kiba slowly begin to heal up. "So anything else happen while I was away?"

"No," Naruto said as he turned his attention to Yang. She had lost interest in her sister in favor of staring at Richtor as the odd teen kept blinking and looking at her funny. Blood loose was obviously in full effect on him as he looked from her to Naruto a few times. "Richtor, don't." He nodded and looked away. Yang turned her gaze to Naruto. "The answer is no. I have no idea where she is right now, Yang. And even if I did, I sure as hell ain't going to tell you."

"Tell her what?" Anko asked.

"Where her mother, Raven, is." Iruka told her.

Richtor perked up at hearing that name. Yang caught interest in that and blinked a few times. Whatever effects the drink had were gone and she moved to grab him. Naruto intercepted her and shoved her down. "It's not worth it."

"Does he know where my mother is?"

"No."

"No I don't. I don't know where mother is."

Yang stared him long and hard before turning her gaze back to Naruto. "Listen to me when I tell you something, Yang. I have no idea where your mother. I strongly suggest you give up looking for her. If you continue down this road, you won't like what you find and you won't like where it leads. If you do this, there is no turning back. The truth isn't worth it."

Standing up, she snorted and said, "Yes it is," as she stormed up to Richtor only for Naruto to grab her and throw her back down. "Hey! If you won't tell me, I'll go somewhere else. He obviously knows something."

"Everyone present knows something, Yang. Tayuya and Kiba have also worked with her. Those two know where she travels and how she travels, so they know where she has been as well. They also helped write up her dossier. Believe me, even I wrote up one for her before I met her, and that was just because we viewed her as a threat at the time. I can tell you anything you want to know about your mother, but I will tell you only this. She isn't worth hunting down, beating up, and taking back home. She'll leave again. Just like she did the last two times."

Yang looked ready to fight before those words hit hard. _Two times… She came home at one point and…_

A powerful killing aura struck her and everyone else as Naruto turned to Iruka and Anko with a scowl on his face. "I was going to ask why you're here, but now I know."

A woman with long red hair wearing a white Atlas uniform stormed into the club with a scowl on her face. Junior backed up in fear while Iruka and Anko smiled and gave mock salutes to the woman. "Lady Kushina, the plan went as well as one would hope for. No battle plan survives first encounter and all that." Anko said with a strange glint in her eye that only Iruka and Naruto recognized as true terror.

Kushina turned from Naruto to Anko before her gaze went back to the blond. "I'll deal with you later, Anko. As for you, Son, what do you have to say for yourself?"

Maybe it was childish rebellion or a need to look tough in the face of complete and total destruction, but Naruto took a deep breath, and said, "Hashtag sorry not sorry," before Kushina punched him hard in the face and knocked him to the ground hard. He was out like a light and the worst part was that his head put a nice fat dent in the counter to the bar.

Junior closed his eyes tightly and wished by some miracle that everything would be fixed come tomorrow and no one robbed him during the night. His idiot guards were obviously not going to be trusted to guard this place and with it only being Tayuya now, he feared for his alcohol and his dirty jobs he had planned for tomorrow.

A/N

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. My computer was in the shop and I just now got it back today as of this posting. Hopefully nothing bad will happen to this thing for a while.


	14. Family Matters

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A/N

This story is entirely fan-made and fictional. Any acts that you might find offensive, disguising, inhuman, wrong or just don't like, we are not liable for. You are reading this story of your own free will and not being forced, if you don't like something we are not forcing you to stay and read it. Please leave the page and re-frame from reading the chapter and or story. All Copyrighted Characters belong to their respect owners. We don't claim anything that is not our own creation and are merely using them for fan made material.

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Chapter 14

"Let me make sure I got this straight, just so we're all on the same page." James tossed a data pad on his desk and let the holopad take over. "You went to Hei's Club to have a talk with Naruto, which resulted in a fight that Anko started." At the mention of the fight, Anko shivered with excitement. James did not look pleased with her, but continued as the more important part of the debriefing began to show its ugly head. "After the arrival of Yang Xiao Long, you supplied them with classified information concerning our military secrets being stolen."

"It was already on the news long before we told them," Iruka explained. James cut his gaze to the man sharply and had a quick stare down with him. Iruka held his ground, oddly enough, and motioned to the captured image of the Paladin that was brought up as it rampaged through the freeway. "Why weren't we informed about this thing being on the loose or that these were the objects that were stolen. Having this information might have given us a better advantage against Roman when we got engaged him in combat."

"It was on a need to know basis. You currently didn't need to know. Only a few people know and they are the people I trust with this sort of information because they're the ones looking in on the thefts." James looked at the image of the Schnee Company's greatest military creation since their first droid. All that time and money now in the hands of terrorists. The people of Vale might not look to him with such hopeful faces anymore after last night. But he had far more worrisome matters to contend with.

"And you say Kakashi is also here?" The two soldiers nodded grimly. James shut his eyes. It was easier when he wasn't Headmaster and was simply a soldier with a gun. Now he was a General and a Headmaster. A Headmaster and a General with the most wanted soldier ever now here in Vale that had more power and skill than anyone should ever be allowed to have that could topple and had toppled entire villages and small cities by himself.

"How did he get over here?" Anko asked.

She held up her own data pad and showed a blank slot for face cams. Atlas took their security very seriously. Almost more seriously than the SDC. But that was because military secrets were far more dangerous than company secrets most of the time. Each airport, train station, and dock had face cams to find and identify people. If Kakashi slipped through them undetected then they had more issues to deal with back home than Vale currently had with their little White Fang problem.

"I'd like to focus back on the stolen tech and what we know about it, along with your engagement with it." James hit the play button and watched the fight for another few minutes before the thing was reduced to scrap at the hands of Naruto. "Anko, why didn't you move to capture Roman? Surely you could have captured him or killed him on the spot."

"Sir, I didn't have an opening to."

James kept watching the footage, doubting her on that front. The woman crafty. Too crafty at times. It was really sick to know that she had once killed someone for a half mile away with her chains by feeding it through the sewage system to spear the person through their anal cavity to their brain, but she did so while fighting off Grimm with one hand. An amazing feat her wasn't willing to believe, but the autopsy proved how he died and when he died, so the times matched up.

"Then I suppose my next question is why you allowed Kushina to even find out Naruto was here?"

The two-looked worried on that subject. James made a very valid point. But sadly, they weren't responsible for alerting her to his present.

"We didn't know she knew he was here. We didn't even know until we got word of it from you." Anko explained as Iruka brought up the image of the red Grimm that had been at the site as well. "But don't we have other issues to worry about. Like this thing?" She motioned to the image as Iruka brought up one he sneaked off with of Richtor. Both were missing the same arm at the same point where it had been ripped off. Not a coincidence or a hard lead to follow when the evidence was so clearly given. "This boy has the ability to turn into Grimm or something like it. Why aren't we moving on him?"

"To be fair, I don't think we should," Iruka confessed. James crossed his arms. The man continued. "See, before Kushina showed up, Naruto told me that we shouldn't look in on the matter at all. Said something to me about it being too dangerous for us. I didn't listen to him at the time, but I think we can take care of ourselves if something were to happen from this."

"What do you mean?"

"It wasn't implied, but he made it seem as though whoever he works for has enough pull to bring harm to anyone that knows about their secrets."

"We identified a few of their members already, and those people are still here." James told them. "I'm sure that whatever this boy is, he's something of value to them. Only we'll know about this talk. So, don't worry about a thing, okay?" That eased them a little bit, but James hardly noticed it as he kept his gaze on the one-armed boy. He'd seen him before, but he wasn't sure where.

(-)

Naruto's eyes snapped open and he sat up fast. The pain followed and he collapsed back into bed. He felt the sheets, looked at the ceiling, sniffed the air, and listened to his neighbors' bicker about something, listen to loud music, and play games.

He was back in his apartment.

 _So, mom's here now._ He swung his legs over the bed and looked at his orange and black sleeping pajamas. _Great…  
_

Naruto had nothing but love for his mother. She loved him, was there for him when he needed her the most, and had always been his mother, rather than his friend. She scolded him for doing something wrong and praised him for doing something right. When he had questions, she answered them. She wasn't the truly gifted and ideal mother, but she was his mother, and she was great at doing her job.

Finding his closet, he unclothed and grabbed some new ones to get around and face the music. He scratched his nose and laughed when he recognized the music playing as an old song his mother used to listen to. He'd forgotten the name of it, but he remembered the lyrics well enough. It suited her.

He pushed open the door and walked to his kitchen where he found her making breakfast. She wore a tan colored shirt and short blue jeans that his father had once worn when he was skinnier. She had torn the legs off of them after they had been put through the wash too many times. She filled it out well, which was odd since she had been thinner than him when he got rid of them but gained a little weight to fit them.

Kushina's orange and white tail twitched and Naruto knew she had figured out he was up and behind her.

"So how was your nap?"

Naruto cautiously moved forward. To her left was a frying pan. A great many times that thing had been used on his behind as a disciplinary tool of destruction. She still had one back home with his butt imprinted on it because it was a cheaper kind. She had kept it only as a keepsake and as a joke.

"Good. How'd you find me?" It was bugging him. James wouldn't do it unless she asked him where he was again, and then it'd be impossible to hide it from her. Iruka and Anko were out of the question because they had been here the entire time. She was on vacation back in Menagerie visiting her family there when they had gotten deployed over here.

"Kali told me about her daughter finding a friend out here that had blond hair, a tail, and was very smart. He also had whisker marks on the side of his face." She turned and smiled at him. Naruto rolled his eyes. Obviously, Blake hadn't been in contact with her parents or he'd have picked up on a call like that. So, her mother was once again keeping an eye on her daughter through other various means. But still, what were the chances that she'd be at their place or in their area when Kali got the information? "At least she'd make a better girlfriend than the current one you have. She's a real suck up."

Naruto blinked a few times and then sniffed the air.

"She's in your computer room."

Naruto sighed and stormed into his computer room to find Yang sitting at it and staring at the monitor. It was password locked and not easy to crack. It also served as the greatest joke he'd ever heard in a long time. Red Vs Blue was certainly entreating when it came to creating those. Too bad Sarge was an idiot and didn't listen to Simmons about password ideas.

"Having fun?" Yang turned and smiled, resting her head against the back of his chair with an expression of a puppy caught in the act and trying to be happy. "What are you doing here?"

"You know why I'm here, lover!"

Naruto locked the door. Yang stood up with her fists ready for the throw down. Naruto sighed and calmly walked over to his desk to type out the password. Yang watched him type part of it, but missed the last part because he bodied her. His wallpaper was that of a younger version of himself and a few other people around him.

"You won't find anything on your mom in my computer. Since I've worked with her, I don't have a need to make a file on her if she goes rouge."

"But you know where she is."

Looking back at the door to where his mother was, Naruto nodded. "Yes, I know where she is. I've known since the day we first met. But I'm not taking you to her. You won't like what you find and even if you do somehow managed to like what she tells you, you won't be the same again. You'll be broken, a traitor, and worst of all, a slave to a group you don't want to be a part of."

"I just want answers."

"And that's where you'll wind up a slave." Yang started messing with his computer to find anything she could think of on her mothers' location or to blackmail him with to give up the information. "You have a little sister to look after, a father that needs you. Why are you so determined to a find a woman that will sooner crush your spirit than hold you in her arms?"

"I just want answers." She gave up after a minute of searching. All of his files were password protected. "So, your mom is from Atlas as well and a soldier to boot. I didn't really see that in the file I found on you."

"My mother is retried, but she still retains her rank and an authority when they have a use for her. She just went back to the military a few years ago."

"After you left." Yang got up and circled around him. "The man who single handedly took down the White Fang in Atlas with an empty pistol, a few new recruits, and bombs with no detonation codes, stands before." She snorted. "You really don't seem like much and the papers I found on you make you seem taller, braver, and more muscled. Hardly what I'd call the Hero of Kurtstand. So, what happened to you? What made you change?"

Naruto walked around her and back to his computer. She watched him shut it down and inhale deeply. "If you want to ask me questions, ask better ones. I'm tired of answering that one."

"Too bad."

His one visible eye turned red and Yang put up her fist for a fight. He turned away with a snort. "I got tired of waiting through the proper channels for them to make the right call." He got up and moved to a bookshelf. "That day at Kurstand would have been different if they had simply give me the codes to the bombs, but they decided not to."

"So what; you were just going to blow the place?" Naruto didn't say anything, but his cold expression let her know that it had been an option for him or his intentions. "Wow… You really are as terrible as they later made you out to be." She pulled up her scroll and showed a familiar headline to him. "After you lost your arm and a member of your team, you went to the council and demanded that the man responsible for your arm be sentenced to death. They denied and you blackmailed three of their core members in to early retirement. No charges were put against you because what they found on them was more incriminating than your actions, but you still got a slap on the wrist for it. And then, worst of all, you murdered three people during a Grimm outbreak before leaving."

Naruto almost smiled. Yang lowered his Scroll.

"You really are a monster, aren't you?"

"I'm much more than a monster, Yang, I'm the Devil." He could hear his mother starting to sing again. He shut his eyes and for a moment was drawn away from reality and to a memory of his mother singing while making cookies. His father was at the table nursing a busted arm. Naruto was then drawn back to the present and looked at Yang. "You need to leave."

"I want information on my mother. Tell me now, and I'll leave you alone for good. I promise. I don't care what I find. Whatever it is, I'll deal with it." Naruto kept his eyes hard as he looked back at the door and to where his mother was. She had started singing a different song. "She has a lovely voice." Naruto's hand leapt to her throat and she felt all the air in her lungs get pulled out. Her Semblance was many things but not something that could handle something like this. She wasn't taking kinetic damage, only having the air ripped from her body.

"Leave my mother out of this, Yang. Your problem with your mother doesn't have anything to do with mine." His voice was harsh and brutal. He held her tight enough that he stopped the use of Semblance and put against the wall. She bet on his arm, but did nothing to him. He was smart, even in a moment of rage like she'd gotten him with as he'd used his metal arm to hold her. "You need to listen to the people that tell you something. If you continue down this path, one day very soon your sister will wake up to you being gone and your body never being found. Believe me, the people I work for, the people your mother works for, can make you disappear in a crowded space with millions of eyes watching you, and no one will know what happened or see it happen. Stop looking." He released her when her eyes rolled into the back of her head.

She dropped to the ground and gave a weak cough. Naruto sighed. He'd have to deal with her now. Playing him was one thing. Playing his mother was another. He was just happy his mom wasn't as naïve as Mokoto had been the last time he'd seen her.

He shoved the door open and walked back to the kitchen holding Yang. Kushina didn't bother turning to face him. "Is your friend okay?"

"She's fine. Need to take her home." Naruto stopped when he saw the time and then glanced to his right where a shadow was put on the floor. He followed it up to its owner and found Richtor sitting at the table with a blank look on his face. More notable than that, however, was that he had his missing arm back. Richtor smiled and waved and then flexed his formerly missing arm. _And I guess he can regenerate lost limbs, meaning putting him down would be even harder than anyone originally believed. Awesome… new tactics and countermeasures to think on._ "Richtor, could you be a friend and take Yang seven blocks down and drop her in the trash can for me. You'll see the dumpster by the comic shop."

Richtor didn't even blink as he scooped up Yang, hefting her over his shoulder like a sake of potatoes, and started marching. He wasn't going to complain about an odd task like this. He was just happy to be back.

With Richtor gone, Kushina stopped the music, turned and faced her son. "We need to talk."

"Yes, we do." He folded his arms. "Why are you here?"

"I'm your mother, and you ran away, while also being wanted for murder. Which, I know now is not at the top of your wanted list anymore."

He snorted in protest. His wanted list was cleaned up weeks ago. James no longer had a valid reason to go after now thanks to him accepting the role of a Guardian, much to his own dismay. Not that it was going to be any different than what he currently did. He went where he wanted, did what he wanted, and operated with only the best to get the job done. He was here on orders from higher ups, yes, but he was happy to finally be in a place where the number of friends he formerly had was rather low.

"But I'm not here to talk about that. I'm here to only take you back to Atlas." Naruto rolled his eyes and moved to the door when someone knocked. He tore the door open and Anko and Iruka stood in the hallway with smiles on their faces. Anko held a few bags of groceries while Iruka had a few drinks.

"What do you want?"

"Come in!" Kushina called out to them. Naruto shut his eyes as the two adults pushed through him and sat their groceries down on the counter. "Did you find everything I asked for?"

"And more!" Anko cheered as she grabbed a few bottles of beer and tossed one to Naruto. Kushina's tail acted like a whip and snatched it out of the air. Naruto didn't mover when she threw it and watched as Kushina put on the counter and glared at Anko. "I forgot your mother doesn't like it when you drink."

"The drinking age is higher here, anyways, Anko." Iruka defended with a slight grin. Kushina gave him a sour expression as she started putting the items away. "So how do you plan on taking him out of here, Kushina? Box him up?"

Anko laughed. Kushina picked up a knife to start cooking lunch but to also make it clear as a threat for the woman. Anko wasn't afraid and simply kept laughing.

"I'm buying a plane ticket for him and we're going back that way."

"Good luck with that," Naruto told her as he fiddled with his scroll. Kushina's scroll beeped and she hastily checked it. "Doesn't look like you have any money for two plane tickets." He put his scroll back in his pocket and Kushina slowly turned to face her son. "Why would you spend twenty thousand lien on stupid factory in Vacuo?"

"Not funny, Naruto!" She stabbed the knife in the cutting board and grabbed a frying pan. The male Faunus chuckled as she raised the frying pan above her head for a hard swing. Iruka grabbed the weapon from her and waved a lecturing finger her way. "Naruto, give me back my money. I hate calling the banks!"

"You should get better passwords, then." Kushina fumed and moved back to her work of cutting chicken. "So, that was your master plan? You were just going to force me to get on a plane with you, no questions asked, and then do what? Turn me over to the authorities in Atlas? James has already pardoned me for my supposed crimes."

"But you should still stand trial for what you did. It would allow you to explain yourself." Naruto snorted and grabbed his scroll. He flipped through some images and tossed it to her. She caught it with her tail and stared at the image. "Why are you showing me this?"

"I'm not the son you remember, mom. I changed. Maybe for the worst, but I changed. I wanted to make a difference, so I traveled. I worked with bandits, terrorists, groups that are no longer alive, and some truly terrible people that shouldn't even still exist. I worked with the Seven Sins of Mistral. I helped enlist Kimimaro into the Dijins of Vacuo. I fought alongside the White Fang in their encounter with the Ragnarok of Vale. You can't tell me you approve of any of that."

Kushina stared at the photo on his scroll. It was a picture of a man with bandages over his throat and face. He carried a large sword on his back. Beside him was a woman with long black hair holding a small chunk of ice in a bladed gauntlet that covered hand. Behind both of them was a man in a full suit of armor with a gun on his back that looked like it could swivel. Naruto stood beside an old lady with grey hair pulled into a bun and holding a small silver cane.

"I'm not who you think I am anymore. I changed."

"But you didn't move on," Anko exclaimed as she took the scroll and started flipping through the images until she came to the one she wanted. "You still have your old teams' photo. Complete with an image of Sakura in her dress and you with your date at the time. I can still see Sasuke in the background standing next to Ino."

Kushina slowly took the scroll from her and sat it on the counter. "If you've done all of this, why don't you run now? That's what you're good at. You were always good at that." She smiled softly. "But that's not like you to run away from a challenge. You run only when you know defeat is all you'll find. So why aren't you running? Do you see a scenario where I don't go to James, ask him to throw you in a cell, and whisk you back to Atlas so you can be a normal soldier again?"

"I am a soldier. That never changed. I just got tired of waiting for orders." The two soldiers present tensed when he turned their way. "I got tired of waiting on the councils and bigwigs of the world. The pencil pushers that want to get all the glory but take none of the blame. I was exposed to it when I lost my arm. They dug up stuff saying I worked for the White Fang at that time. I didn't. And they only assumed I did because of my stunt at Kurstand."

"The council doesn't like you because you're a thinker," Anko told him. "Military wise you're a great asset to them, to us. You can think your way out of any situation, no matter the cost. You survive. You're like me in that regard. We're both survivors. It's just a matter of the price we're willing to pay for our survival."

Anatolia was a terrible incident in Atlas's history, near the time Mantle had lost all of its power. It still had some during the time and when they lost it, Anatolia, a small city near its walls, was the first to suffer. A town of nearly five thousand was lost to a single soldier that showed up out of the blue and cut a path of destruction for no other reason than just because they were in his way. The only survivor was Anko. She survived by killing her best friend to wound the unknown soldier. The price of that victory was high, and Anko was always viewed as an accomplice of his, but with him never surfacing or finding any trail of him, it became clear that if she was in contact with him, they were going to great lengths to hide it.

Iruka put a hand on his wife's shoulder and looked at the two Uzumakis with worry. "We can't take him out of here, Kushina. We spoke to James before coming here. Naruto is a free man and is stationed here under orders by Ozpin and James." Her tail bristled in quiet rage to their words. She didn't want to hear them or accept them. "The orders he has weren't told to us in detail, but what we were told is that he works for a group that Ozpin has approved of and allowed them to make use of their city for the time being. Any attempts to take him or his team will result in criminal punishment."

"I don't care."

"I care." Iruka pointed at Naruto and said, "You're just now coming back to the military, Kushina. We can't let you throw that away. How do you think Minato would feel if he found out you were blowing your career on your son that has orders to be here?!"

"He'd be proud I took him home!"

"No, he wouldn't." Naruto said bitterly. Kushina turned with the knife in her hand and a look of murder on her face. "Dad was… difficult to be around because he wasn't a father to me, he was a friend. At times, I hardly knew him and then there were times he acted like I could do no wrong. I set your tail on fire once and he laughed, rather than scolded me. He left that to you, mom. What sort of father, and husband, does that?"

"He found joy in the things you did."

"I highly doubt he'd find anything joyful about what I do now or have done. Believe me, I've done terrible things. Things I'm not proud of, but I've done to complete the mission." Raising his voice wasn't going to work with her. She was a mom first and a friend second and a soldier last. Calming down, he took a deep breath and said, "I'm sorry. But Minato was always… strange to me." Kushina turned away and went back to work, her tail now on the floor. "I'm sorry… I really am."

He scratched at his neck and looked to the other two adults.

"When did you two get married?" The two laughed and Kushina began to chuckle.

(-)

"Are you going to carry me the whole time?"

"Naruto told me to drop you off in the alley beside the comic shop in the dumpster. So, that's what I'm doing."

And that summoned up the entire trip this far for Yang.

Richtor was an odd person, far stranger than any she'd ever come across in her recent days. Between meeting Naruto and his rag tag group of friends, she had thought she had seen it all, but no, he took the cake with his odd way of speaking and flexing of his arm as he carried her over his shoulder like a sake of potatoes through the busy street. Possibly stranger was that no one was really moving to help her, ask her questions, or figure out what was going on.

People were really blind to the world around them it seemed.

Richtor had other thoughts on his mind anyways. The return of his arm was sort well on his mind since he'd woken up. After the strange fox woman had shown up and taken his guardian away, he was left with Tayuya until Raven showed up. After her arrival, he was put in the hospital at their base and given plenty of rest. When he woke up he had grown an arm and a few hours of study was put forward to figure out how he did it. Raven sent him back when he was released but she remained to speak to the doctor to understand how he grow back his ripped off arm.

The idea that he could regrow limbs was astounding to his doctor but he could sense the nurse's fear. As soon as he was released he was allowed to eat to his hearts' content in the forest outside their base. Their Warden said he might have eaten all the Grimm in the area, but he didn't care. He'd done it once before. They'd come back. They always came back.

"So, you work with mom, right?"

Richtor nodded. "Yes."

"Do you know where she's at?"

"No. I travel by her portal. I don't know where she is on a map."

"But you have an idea on where she is?"

"No. I know she was at the base, but where that is or if she's still there is unknown to me." He paused and sniffed the air a few times. Yang growled. "Why does my sniffing make you mad, Fire Cracker?"

That was another thing. He had a strange name for her. He wouldn't call her by name, only Fire Cracker. It was really odd. Why do that? Was it an insult or just something he did? It had to be something he did. He was too casual about it for it to be an insult.

"Why do you call me that?"

"You smell of fire and you have a temper. I heard your words to the Mischievous Fox Boy." Yang sighed momentarily before deciding to try something else out. "Why are you looking for your mother? Did she leave you?"

Yang felt her words die in her throat. He was asking a tough question she didn't have an answer for. On the one hand, she wanted to hit her and drag her back to dad, tie her up if she had to, and force her to be a mother to her. But on the other hand, she just wanted answers. Whatever happened from there was up in the air and she deal with it accordingly when the time came.

"Not that it's any of your business, but she did leave me, otherwise I wouldn't be looking for her." Richtor shrugged, a notion that she felt more that saw. "So, what is she like?"

"Who?"

"My mom."

"I don't know. Who is your mom?"

"Raven?! The same person we've been talking about for the past two minutes!"

Richtor stopped and tossed Yang into the garbage. They were here already?

"She's very nice. She takes care me and has raised me since I was little."

Yang's blood ran cold with those words. She couldn't fathom the idea of her mother replacing her. What kind of person would do that? It made her want to ring his neck and scream bloody murder. But she couldn't do it here. Not now. Maybe later in a less crowded spot.

"Where is she?"

"I don't currently know."

"I'll buy you dinner!" Barter! Do anything! He wasn't as smart as Naruto. He answered her question with straight and easy to understand replies.

Richtor paused mid step and regarded her for a small moment. He was hungry. But a need to keep his secret was high and not something he was willing to break since it would hurt Raven and Naruto. "You don't have enough money."

"I'd only be paying for you."

Richtor blinked a few times as his stomach began a low grumble too quiet for Yang to hear, but just loud enough to get his attention. He was hungry, but the secrecy stopped him. He could go later with Naruto or Tayuya.

"Still not interested."

Angry, the buxom blond got in front of him and put a hand on his chest to stop him. If bartering wouldn't work, violence would. Her eyes turned red and her hand balled into a fist. Pain erupted in her chest at the thought of this teen being raised by her mother. How could she do that to her? Why would she? Was she forced to do this?

"Why are you crying?"

Yang growled when she caught on to her tears and shoved him away. "I'm crying because you took my mother away from me. You're the reason she left me and dad. Because of you..." She stopped and grabbed his shirt to lift him up. It was hard. Hard to face the true betrayal of her mother's actions. She felt more alone than she ever had in her entire life. It hurt more than when she discovered her Semblance. "I never got to know her! And you got to be with her in my place!"

"Not true. I'm not a woman. I'm a man."

Yang gave him a withering glare as she reeled back to hit him but stopped knowing that it would do little in the long run. She needed to try and barter with him. He had to want something. Everyone wanted something in their life. They all had a price.

It was just a matter of finding his.

"Why do you not listen to Naruto? He only wants to help you. Mother asked him that he watch you and keep you safe after your first run in with him. So why continue?"

That was more than she expected. So, she somehow cared enough to not want any harm to befall her but still wasn't going to be in her life? _I'm punching her in the face when we meet,_ she decided.

Richtor started to leave again. Yang got in his path again opened her mouth but said nothing. A deep chill began to take root in her gut. Something was horribly off with this. If he was so important to her mother, did he have other guards' or handlers aside from Naruto? That Kiba person and the redhead that brought him in could be some, but wouldn't he have more? He had to have more.

Her eyes danced to a shadow that moved where light should be and then she knew that someone was watching them.

Richtor turned towards the shadow with curious eyes and then sniffed the air for a moment before saying, "Specter," with a twitching nose. Yang backed away but he made a few biting motions and the shadow retreated. "I don't like playing her games. She always wins," he said while sniffing the air for her scent.

Well if finding her mom was off the table, perhaps getting an idea on who she worked for would be the next best thing. "Who is she?"

"Specter."

"Yes."

"Specter."

"…Yes…?"

"Specter."

"No. Who is Specter?"

"Specter is Specter. Why do you ask such odd questions?"

Yang bit her lips in frustration. Getting any information out of him was going to be hard. He didn't seem dumb. He was answering her questions, but they only lead to hatred and more questions. Was he damaged in some way?

"Why do you ask such strange questions? Why does my being with mom offend you? I didn't know I took her away from anyone, say for the mean man."

The buxom blonde felt her ire growing as he kept talking. How could be so stupid and somehow more important than her? Maybe it was a good thing Raven didn't raise her. He seemed rather damaged and slow from the looks of things.

"Who's the 'Mean Man', and don't give me any stupid answers."

"I don't give stupid answers, I give honest answers. It's a condition I have. I can't lie and I'm not good with social activity."

Well that explained a lot.

"But he was a man I met when I was real little. Be didn't like me and called me a freak. He argued with mom, and she decided to leave him. She tried to take me a party of his once, but I wasn't allowed to get too close. The big cake smelt really good."

 _She went to their wedding and took him,_ Yang realized. Her mother had argued with Tai about him and she left him behind to raise him. But why did Tai have issues with him? Was it just to that he was strange or was it simply because he was a Faunus? Her father once had issues with them, but that was a really long time ago. So, that couldn't be it. It had to be something else.

"Can I leave now? I need to return before Naruto and the nice Fox Lady get worried about me." His face relaxed and it almost looked like he was recalling a happy memory.

"She reminds you of mother?"

He shook his head. "No. She reminds me of…" Richtor turned and growled as two shadows appeared on the sidewalk. Yang searched for an owner but couldn't find one. "I don't want to play today. I'm hungry!" His eyes turned red and for a moment buzzing sounds could be heard. The shadows hastily retreated. Richtor snorted and started walking. "I'm hungry. I'm going home."

With that, he shoved through Yang and left. The buxom blonde watched a shadow return and then disappear before she left. A moment later a loud shrill of a cry broke out. Yang spun looking f9r the source. She didn't find it. She had to get back to the dorm anyways. She wanted to make sure Ruby was okay after having a White Atlas, a drink mixed with various alcohol and milk. Poor thing was sick and now vowing off milk.

(-)

"Alright. I'll be there soon to pick him up." Raven put her scroll in her pocket and returned her focus to the doctor that had treated Richtor. He had silver hair that looked grey in the lighting of the hallway and wore a pair of glasses that he constantly had to push up. Codes names were always thrown around on missions but he always kept his name simply as Silver for his hair. "So, what'd you find?"

"He has an unusually high blood count for the last time we saw him. His entire metabolism skyrocketed and has been rather high since he came in. There was also a build of aura around the wound during the time he lost his arm. Couple that with his Grimm physiology and it's not so strange that he grew back his missing limb."

No, it wasn't strange when one considered the very nature of what he was. Richtor was the strangest thing anyone had found since the discovery of artificial intelligence back thirty years ago, when a nut job of a scientist decided to try and upload his consciousness into a machine. It worked for all of two days before his physical body died due to the tremendous information it got through feedback and the fact that he took a massive dose of illegal and untested drugs along great with a hundred thousand watts of electricity to the brain, heart, lungs and left testicular.

But Richtor was currently the only known Grimm Eater in existence and everyone was on edge around. It seemed like every other day they were finding more about him. After he ate Badger and was hospitalized for a few days, he gave them all enough data to sift through for a year, and he was showing new things each day. Like right now how he could regenerate a lost limb. It was amazing and terrifying since no one had a Semblance like that to their knowledge and just how powerful that made him.

"With his higher metabolism, he did eat all of the Grimm out in our location. Not to worry, we have enough negative Nancy's in the area that they'll be back by tomorrow or later this week."

Yes. Because when you work with a group of a highly untrusting and scary people you tend to pull the Grimm to your area.

"As for Kiba…" Raven held her breath. The idiot had been at death's door with both feet and ass in the grave. He was lucky to still be alive, the dumbass. What was he thinking challenging Kakashi on his own? "He's going to be out for a while."

Raven sighed. That put a real damper on the plan Naruto put together against Fahrenheit. Without Kiba to be their nose and ears, they might not survive a single confrontation against that monster. They would have to postpone the operation, move ahead of their time line, or worse, call off the entire project and wait till next year unless Naruto could think of a way around their problem.

"I should go check on the nurse that oversaw him. Poor thing got the fright of her life when Richtor began to mutate on her. Even reached out to attack her she claims."

"They're reviewing the footage right now." Raven told him as he walked away. Gone, she sighed and decided it was time to face the music. Naruto had finally made a point to her that he couldn't handle Yang anymore. She knew about Richtor and was asking him questions now. She'd already gotten a message from High Command to deal with her daughter. Now she was sticking her neck out for her.

She passed a few other members of their group along the way before she got to her room. Higher ups got various sized rooms, some of which were meant for families that were born into the group or had brought their loved ones along. While this was also very rare, it did serve as a status of sorts and marked her as a moderately important individual. Richtor might only listen to a few people, but he wouldn't ignore an order from Raven, and Command knew that… For the time being.

She flipped on her computer and waited for the worst. She was asking the impossible of them. If it didn't come with an ulterior motive she'd be surprised, but if they had one at all it'd be to kill her.

Sometime later a green light blinked into existence and she went to her mailbox. It showed a thousand read messages and one unread. She clicked on it and skim read it.

"I understand." She deleted the message, grabbed her sword and pulled out her scroll. She dialed a number and smiled. "I'm on my way over, Richtor. I'm taking you out to eat." She hung up, opened a portal, and dialed another number as she stepped through. "Hello, Yang. You want to talk? So, let's talk."

(-)

"You have been on that Scroll since I got here!"

A sane person never ignored their mother. Clearly Naruto wasn't a sane person as he raised a finger as it would magically silence her while typing something out. Kushina, to his credit, folded her arms and refused to move any further until he got off the device.

He finished and little his scroll away while saying, "If she had informed me that you were coming, I would have told my work to kindly fuck off, but since you didn't-" He ducked under a hard-right hook that would knocked him out again, "- so I can't ignore them."

"If," She took another swing at him and missed, "I had called ahead, you'd have been on the first flight out to I'm knows where. That's what your good at. But then I assume you'd see a victory in there somewhere and not run." She gave up on the questionable disciplinary actions and started following him again. "So why are we here at Beacon?"

"I'm going to talk to Ozpin about something that happened yesterday and hope that James is here." Kushina froze on the spot and started to visibly shake. Naruto pretended not to notice and moved to the elevator. She joined him. "So how is Kali?"

"Small talk is still something you're not good at, huh?" His eyes darkened for a moment before she giggled and said, "But she's good. She wants to meet you."

"Pass… Her daughter is enough of a problem for me without Yang thrown into the mix."

The redhead gave him a curious look but decided not to push for more. This was already more then she'd hoped for with him.

The door parted and she stepped in to the large office. Glynda stood ready to fight when she saw Naruto. Kushina looked around owlishly as she waited for something to come out and try to whisk her boy away.

"Murderer."

"Whore."

"Naruto Uzumaki!" Kushina took a swing at him and clubbed him upside the head. "I'm sorry about my boy, Glynda. Without me around he got rather mouthy."

"And murdery."

"That's not even a word, Mrs. Anal Beads." Two more hits from Kushina and Naruto grew silent but still mouthed, "Cradle Robber," once again going back to her choice of clothing and weapon for a sexual innuendo.

"Is Ozpin around? Naruto wants to speak with him about something."

"Why are you speaking for me?"

"Mouthy children are to be seen and not heard."

"So were women fifty years ago. How about we hope back on the fun wagon, huh mom?" One more powerful backhand to the back of his head. "I stand by what I say."

Glynda gave a roll of her eyes to the antics of mother and son as the doors parted and Ozpin walked in with an exasperated Fuu behind him that cheered upon seeing Naruto.

"Naruto!" Kushina blinked and the woman had snatched him up faster than anyone should be able to move to squeeze him hard enough to break bones. "I knew you'd come back!" She sat him down. "Ready to start having fun?"

"Not with you." His gaze went to the Headmaster. "My business is with you. You said I'd experience odd effects from the merger since you kicked it in gear with me. What sort of effects are we talking about?"

Ozpin glanced at his mother as she narrowed her eyes on the male teacher.

"It varies…" he answered slowly. "Perhaps you could elaborate on what happened or what you experienced."

Kushina put a hand on Naruto's shoulder as she regarded the Headmaster coldly. "I'm sorry if I'm interrupting something important here, Sir, but I'd like to know what you're implying with my son."

Glynda stepped forward was coldly put down by a small wave of the hand from the older male. "Perhaps you remember a conversation with Yugito and Killer Bee a few years ago, I hope."

Death was all anyone could taste.

Kushina twitched and her gaze was slowly drawn to the hyperactive woman still standing beside her son. She gave her a curious glance and then dropped hard screaming about fire and her mother. Glynda stumbled sideways and reached out to someone unseen across the room. Naruto shut his eyes and began breathing heavily as he chanted, "It's not real," to himself.

Ozpin, however, did not fall to his knees or lose his focus on the woman. He merely tapped his cane and the three affected people returned to normal but remained winded.

"Your Semblance is still very terrifying, Kushina. But I do ask you refrain from using it." Ozpin ordered.

Naruto's noise twitched as he tried to think of a way to explain what had happened during his fight with Kakashi. It was confusing to him, but right now he was still unsure on what it all meant. "I saw my death at the hands of Kakashi." Ozpin nodded. "From our fight, there was one moment where I saw myself dying, but I survived by avoiding the object that would have killed me."

Ozpin moved to his desk while Fuu pulled Kushina away with Glynda to better explain the situation to the now worried Uzumaki. Stapling his fingers together, the older male hummed to himself before leaning back and saying, "That's unusual, but not unheard of," forcing Naruto to snort his way and sit down on the other side of the desk. "Let me explain. Those that hold your Guardian are often shown something else entirely. Usually what they see is further down the road of their life, sometimes showing them their death that comes much later in life, an event that is dictated by a choice they make, or an event so far in the future that it boggles the mind." He typed out something on his keyboard that morphed from his desk and displayed a hand-written note with no name but a date that was ten years in the future. "A previous host of his saw the future where a creature of great power fought another and an answer to the greatest question ever asked was answered."

Naruto skim read the note and then looked at Ozpin as though he were crazy. The note didn't tell him anything about the future, only that both beings had fought and the larger being had told him there was no point to their fighting. They spoke and a great change followed soon after, but as to what the change was about, or what the two beings fought about, was unknown. The hand writing was also shown as more of a scribble, as if the writer had been trying to write it all down as fast as possible, least they lose whatever knowledge the vision they saw had granted them.

"Others have had less exciting visions," Ozpin added. He chuckled and adjusted his glasses. "Some of also seen a moment in their life where a choice was to be made and they acted upon it, and the outcome was not what they wanted or expected."

"You honestly expect me to believe that I have the power to see the future now?"

"No. You don't have the power to see the future. It's a sign that the link has already begun. Have you experienced anything else?" Naruto turned away, almost as though he were unsure himself. "Right then… Perhaps it was simply a fluke and you need more time with it. It was, after all, you're first exposure to the merger. Once you're fully merged with him, he will grant you a power of his choosing, and from there, you're journey will begin."

"I didn't agree to this to became some pawn for you, Ozpin. I did this because of the price you paid for my services." The Headmaster nodded, well aware of the price they paid for him. It would make Kushina happy to no ends, but whether he returned or not was up to him. Shame that it seemed he wouldn't be returning anytime soon. Naruto looked at his mother as she went for angry to happy and then finally ending on being annoyed by whatever Fuu had told her. She gave her son a long look before stepping forward. "We're leaving…" he told her as he moved to the door. Fuu followed. "I don't need you around me, Fuu."

"Don't you want help with the linking?" She wagged her pinkie at him. "It'll be fun~!"

"I'm not into lesbians." He threw the door open and got in the elevator. Kushina raced to his side and waved happily to the two teachers as it shut. As soon as the doors shut, she rounded on her son and pointed a lecturing finger at him. He swatted her hand away and glared at her. "I'm not the son you remember, mother. I changed. So how about you go home now. Or would you rather go speak to James about the arrangements that have been made for me?"

Her eyes lingered with his for a while before she snorted and turned to watch the numbers go down. Hearing he was pardoned for any crimes he had committed over the years wasn't exactly something she favored, since she knew that the price was that he become a Guardian, something she had lived in fear of upon hearing what they would wrongly do to him if he had once refused. Now knowing what it truly meant and how he was no longer in harm's way, she was okay with him being a member, but didn't like anything about it. To her, it was nothing but a farce to keep him on a tight leash, which she wanted to do from the moment she heard he was even here to begin with.

The doors parted and the blond walked through the bustling hallways for the door when a tingling at the back of his mind caught him. Call it a danger sense, but as soon as he walked outside, he came face to face with the members of Team RWBY. Yang met his gaze and frowned once she caught sight of his mother slinking up behind him. The two women stared at each other before Yang looked away while scratching at her nose.

"Hey, Naruto!" Ruby ran up to him and looked him over and then to the woman behind him. She leaned in close and whispered, "Is she safe to be around?"

"She's my mother so… no." Kushina whacked him on the back of the head again and he rolled his eyes. "How are you all holding up after your run in with Kakashi?"

Yang rubbed her arms while a worried looking Blake glanced the other way. Weiss and Ruby seemed more worried that someone might have heard him and figured out that they had a hand in the events of last night. Sure, Ozpin had brought it up to them, but he had been more playful about it than anything else.

"We're a okay!" Ruby said after making sure that no one was within earshot. "But how about out? You did get knocked out by her and then dragged off by your ankle." Naruto gave his mother a strange glance before he returned to looking ahead and sighing in frustration. "Anyways… What are you doing here?" 

"I was here speaking with Ozpin." Naruto felt his mother put a hand on his shoulder and he watched her move forward to stop in front of Weiss. "She's not like him."

"I know," Kushina replied. Her tail was swished back and forth for a moment before she said, "I'm surprised you're father even allowed you to leave his mansion, but then again, you are like your sister." Weiss glanced at the woman for a split second before stepping back in momentary shock. "I finally resemble someone to you? Now look at my son." She reached out to grab her sons' arm and lift his sleeve up, but he had backed up and unbuttoned it to show the metal that was his arm. "Your father is a very cruel person, but I can't hold that against you, I suppose. You are not him."

Staring at his arm for a moment, Weiss then turned to Kushina and nodded. "I'd thank you for that, but it doesn't help that he still has some control over me," she confessed with her eyes glancing away in shame. Her eyes returned to the metal arm that Naruto had as he concealed it again. "How did that happen and why do you have issues with my father?" _Aside from being a Faunus and most likely someone he wronged in a different way._

Glancing at her son, she looked for anything that might be a hint to him wanting to talk about it and explain, but when he gave nothing, she motioned to a small park and said, "Would you care to talk about it? It's not much, but if my son doesn't want to talk about it, I'll explain it to you, if you'd like to hear," as the two departed from the group.

Blake watched them go with an invisible smile. Weiss needed to know more about the cruel side of her father than what she already did. She knew a lot, but not enough to warrant her standing up to the man. Someone had to before a gun was drawn on him if it already hadn't.

"So, who is Kakashi?" Ruby asked him. Naruto looked down at the scythe wielding girl and to other two. They both looked eager to know as well. Naruto started walking and Ruby tailed him. "Hey? I'm asking you a question."

"You wanna know about Kakashi? Follow me. I'll explain a few things about him. Let you know what you're up against if you're going to keep challenging him like this." The three remaining girls sighed as they realized that they were caught. "Don't worry. What you do with your lives is up to you. If you wanna throw them away doing something like this, go for it. I'm not going to stop you." He inhaled and looked over his shoulder at the school. _God, I hate this place._ He started walking and the girls followed. It was better that they know in case they ran into him again. He wasn't someone anyone needed to fight without knowing what they were in for.

(-)

"Why a café?" Ruby asked. More important; why a café that didn't serve milk! What sort of place was this? Who didn't serve milk at a restaurant? That was insane and dumb and stupid and impossible for her frail little mind to conceive. But on the stranger side of things, they did have strawberries, so she was willing to understand and let them get away with not having milk.

"Why not a café?" Blake countered. She sipped on some of her tea, her bow twitching ever so often as the sooth taste of the warm liquid went down her throat. It was days like today that really made her happy when the White Fang was constantly at her back and on her mind with all their illegal activities as of late. Thanks to Weiss, they had a good understanding of what they had been hitting, but thanks to her little recon with Sun, they now knew that they somehow had a gone from a slightly medium sized group to a full army with soldiers and guns to back them up. If they turned their sights on Vale, she feared no one could stop them.

Yang munched lazily on some bread as she watched Naruto answer yet another call. He looked almost annoyed during this call and when he finally finished, it wasn't even ten minutes later that he sat back down and got a message. Whatever the message was, it made him happy. Not sadistic and control the world happy, but actual happy. Almost as though he was about to see a family member or something that he hadn't seen in years.

"So where was I and why are we here again? Sorry. All the calls and taxing my brain."

"Kakashi. Information." Blake counted off for him and reminded. Honestly, how he could be this forgetful? This was important information, plus it was someone that had very nearly killed all of them by himself. Not exactly something anyone could do, as she was sure that Adam couldn't handle the odd Grimm that helped them, two Atlas Specialists, the four members of Team RWBY, and Naruto, who just happened to have the second most overbearing Semblance she'd run across. Honestly, she'd seen some weird Semblances out there, but his was a lot scarier.

Nodding, he grabbed his glass of tea and downed part of it. "Right…" His scroll beeped and the girls sighed. He checked it without a care in the world for them and smiled. _Got you! No Kill Squad for me, thank you._ "Alright, so aside from his fighting style, I'll tell you anything you want to know. I'll cover the basics right now, since I know that's the real important thing to hit here." He looked around and brought his scroll out, tapping a few buttons as he did and bringing up a projection of the masked Faunus. "Kakashi Hatake, formerly a member of the Atlas Death Squad, is a high-ranking member of the White Fang in the Atlas Branch. His father used to be a member of the original group, but he was killed at a protest where shots were fired. No one knows who fired first, only that it started a blood bath afterwards. After that, he lost his mind and his way and somehow rallied their division to became what Vale currently has for a White Fang."

"But what does Semblance do? He went from using Weiss's Glyph ability to my super speed and then to your wind ability and finally ending with Yang's Semblance. How does he even do that?" Ruby asked.

"His Semblance is called Copy, and once he sees a Semblance, he can not only copy it, but use it better than the original in terms of power only. So, Ruby, if you can run at two hundred miles an hour, he can run at two hundred fifty miles an hour. Same applies to any other Semblance. If I had known he was in the area, I would have dragged you all out of there to challenge him a different way, called upon James and a few others, and tried to take him down that way. The more powerful a Semblance, the more powerful he is. There were two people present during out confrontation that he didn't need to get, and he got one of them: Yang's."

"So, you know what my Semblance is?"

"I knew long before I ever met you. Perks of working for your mom, which reminds me." He looked at Blake and pointed at her. "If you ever get in contact with your mom, don't tell her I told you this, as she probably only knows me from word of mouth from my mother, but she has spies watching you to make sure you're alright. It's how my mom found me. She's only here because your mother happened to know we met and she figured out it was me. So, try to keep your eyes opened and one ear on the ground. Otherwise, I might just step on your head."

Blake smirked, despite now knowing her mother was spying on her to give him a smug expression. "You have mommy issues?"

"I don't have mommy issues. My issues are deeper than that. But moving on. Since Kakashi is here, it means something big is going down. Most likely with him present, he's here to take a shot at two Headmasters that happen to be in the same area. Or he's aiding this branch because of Roman Torchwich. Whatever the reason; he has to be stopped. Now so you all know, Kakashi isn't just strong and fast, he's smart. He didn't go through an Academy because as soon as he got out of the starter school, he was immediately snatched up for the Death Squad and then began climbing through the ranks. Currently, he is Atlas's number one traitor, standing above a man that died two years ago today." 

"So, he's bad news? What else can you tell us?" Yang demanded. Her scroll went off and she checked the number. It showed up as unknown. Naruto motioned for her to take it and she got up to answer. "Hello?"

" _Hello, Yang. You wanna talk? So, let's talk."_ Raven's voice came over the line. _"I know where you are and what you're doing. If you don't believe that this is me, then how about I prove it to you right now. When you were two years old, Qrow and I tricked you into believing you could talk to birds and that we talked back. Qrow thought it would be funny if he taught you a curse word and you repeated it to Tai."_ Yang glanced over at Naruto with a fake smile. He was too busy speak to Ruby and Blake about something else. _"Come to these coordinates alone. I'll answer any question you have for me. But if you come with anyone else, I'm gone, and you'll never see me again."_ The line went dead and she glanced back at the group.

"One of my friends is in the area. He's down here getting ready to watch the tournament." She thumb-jabbed in the direction of town as her scroll beeped again. "I'll be back later, Ruby. Blake, make sure she doesn't get in to trouble." She jumped off the balcony and made a hasty retreat down the street. _Even if this is a lie, it's the best lead I've gotten in a long time._

Naruto shook his head. _Is this what you're planning, Raven?_ He didn't care. He had asked repeatedly that she deal with her daughter and now it seemed like she was. Poor Yang was going to end up in a ditch with her head cut off. Oh well, if she survived, that just meant Raven wasn't all she was cracked up to be. "Yes, my father served as his personally trainer for three years, but shortly after the massacre, he neglected his training and left the military. The next time anyone saw him was during the attack on Lions' Gate, a small fortress city defense force that he destroyed entirely. They caught video footage of him and when they realized he was alive and leading small members of the White Fang to attack and slaughter innocent people, they sent the very people he had commanded and trained to kill him or capture him." Naruto took a sip of his tea. "They got their heads mailed back to them. It was a great day for the post office. Lots of cops and a military personally for weeks."

"How could he betray his people so casually like that?"

"You don't understand, Ruby." Blake held her cup a little tighter. Betrayal wasn't the problem. The problem had stemmed from the loss of his father and what he stood for in his eyes. Standing up against your oppressors wasn't all it was cracked up to be. It was all about turning the other cheek and taking a non-violent stand. When an eruption of violence like that happens and you lose someone important to you, it really changes people, for better or for worse. "So how do you beat him?"

"You four won't be able to. Even on your best day and him on his worst, you wouldn't stand a chance. He's too powerful. If you could trick him into using his Semblance to take four other Semblances before you fought him and ended it on a bad one that serves no physical or enhancing specialty, you still wouldn't win. He's too strong, too fast, and too smart. Even if you did trick him, he can still use his weapons, which he's proficient at, and whatever Semblance he has, will be a deadly ability in his hands."

"But how would you beat him?" Ruby demanded, hoping to get a tactical idea on stopping the man. He had to be stopped. There was two ways about it. There had to be way to stop him, or failing that, push him back.

Leaning back in his chair, Naruto massaged the bridge of his noise. "Put on the spot, if you four just wanted to survive against him, running wouldn't be an option here." He licked his lips and said, "but it would require a lot of ordnance for it to work. You'd be pulling my same stunt at Kurstand. You're going to need a lot of explosives and the ability to threaten very well. But if you don't have any of this and you run into him again, your best bet is to try to fight in the city or a very small area where your size would put you at that advantage, but even then, your chances of victory is still very small. Any other location will kill you immediately."

"So absolutely no hope for victory for us?" Blake deadpanned.

"No hope of victory," he confirmed while taking a sip of his drink. "Kakashi is on a completely different level when compared to you four. You're good, but he's better. I could school you four on your best day with me at my worst. Believe me, I'm not strong enough to one on one fight him, but my chances are better because I know how to use my Semblance better than he does, and that's only because of how he would control mine when compared to me."

"So only you have a shot at victory under only certain circumstances?" Ruby asked, making sure she understood it correctly. Naruto nodded and she deflated. If he had a slim chance of victory against him, that meant that they didn't have any chance at all unless they could trick him or fight in a really small area that was enclosed just enough for them to move around freely while he would be stuck. "So, has there been any movement from his branch to our branch? How many branches for them is out there?"

"They have a few other branches out there, but they have one main branch in each Kingdom with a larger group formerly working in Menagerie until recently." Blake's bow twitched again to Naruto's words as he got up to leave while leaving some money on the table for their drinks and snacks. "My advice for you is to quit now and focus on your school work, but I know that's not what you're going to do. So," he wrote a number down and slid the paper to Ruby, "if you need me, I'll consider coming to aid for a fee. I'll know when you're in trouble and I'll be able to get to you in a flash."

Ruby picked up the piece of paper and nodded as she put it away.

"You should come see us again when you get a chance to," Ruby confessed. "If you're fighting them as well, we can work together. Please, we're trying to help Vale before this becomes a real problem." 

The blond chuckled as he looked at the sky. "I'll consider it. But in the meantime, you should focus more on school and getting ready for the tournament. If I was going to lead an assault against this place a time to show weakness, I'd do it during the festival." Naruto pulled out his scroll. "I'll talk to you later."

"One more question before you go," Blake demanded as she got to her feet. She showed him something on her scroll and his eyes softened. "How come your father doesn't show up as a dead person, yet he has a grave and mission details until about ten years ago?" Naruto remained quiet. "Why are the events of his death unknown?" Blake almost demanded that information of him. Naruto turned and left, unhappy and suddenly not himself. The two girls watched him leave with worried looks. "We should get back to the dorm. I still have a lot of reading I need to catch up on." Which was code for, "I have a lot of information I need to find on the activities of the White Fang," something Ruby didn't pick up on.

(-)

Weiss waited for the worst as the older woman sat down at the bench. Kushina was very patient. Too patient, actually. It was alarming that she was both a Faunus and not someone that immediately casted judgment on her for her fathers' actions. True, she hadn't made it easy for her team or some of their friends, but she was trying, and it didn't help that as soon as anyone saw her, they immediately jumped the gun and assumed the worst about her. Kushina might have at start, but it was more out of a hatred for her father, rather than her, something she could be admire and agree upon.

"What does my father have to do with his missing arm?"

Taking a moment to reflex on something else as she gazed upon the school the redhead smiled as a memory from long ago came back to her. Her team had come here with Minato's team and they fought at this very school. She won, but only because of her Semblance, which he later accused her of cheating by using it and had a real, honest to goodness, fight with her that he won. Without a Semblance to use, Kushina wasn't that much of a fighter at the time and could be easily dispatched. Now, however, she was a tough as nails woman that could take on anyone and generally come out unscathed, Semblance or not.

"Do you remember the Kurstand incident?" Weiss nodded slowly. She'd heard bits and pieces of it. She was still a child at the time and the news had always bored her. Winter was gone at the Military School and her brother had recently been born if her memory on the time was correct. "My son stopped the White Fang from taking the building and holding a lot of powerful people hostage that were cowards. He did this with a bunch of other recruits and no detonation codes for the bombs that were in the building. They were after a lot more than just money and dust. The place was a safe house for weapons at the time. Naruto happened to know this and took a few of the bombs but realized he didn't have the codes. So, he asked for command to give them to him to work as a way of getting them to leave. They refused. So, he tricked them all into believing he was going to blow the place sky-high if they didn't leave. They did. And he was seen as a hero for his actions in the incident. Well, when he lost his arm, Ironwood put forward a request to get him a prosthetic arm as soon as possible. Naturally, he went to the SDC first, and they refused to make one for him because your father convinced the council and several other high ranking military members that he was a member of the White Fang."

"I remember something about that." Weiss sat up straight. "I don't remember how old I was, but I remember that my mother had been speaking to father about the incident and said that he was innocent. But I never knew who they were referring to. I know that he eventually did start making them for him, but they worked with another company to fully make the arm."

"You're correct. They partnered with a company called Life Co. to make the arm. The company fell apart soon after and were taken over by Ycarusa Industries, but they are allowed to remain independent of them in actions alone." Kushina watched a Bullhead land and James step out. She could finally speak to the man and make sense of what was happening with her son. Ozpin was a Headmaster, yes, but she didn't report to him. She reported to James and only him unless he fell in combat. "Weiss, you are not your father and I don't see you making the same mistakes that he has over the years. His subjectivation of the Faunus might not be the worst thing he's done, but it is up there. To me, his stand against my son, who fought to save a few hundred lives, is the worst thing he's done. He took my son from me by preventing him from getting into the school over there in Atlas and he prevented him from recovering faster. I know, that even after all this time, he still has yet to move on from his past and still lives with the regret of being unable to save his friends from the Grimm a year after the cause of his arm happened."

"I can't speak for him, but I know that he probably thought he was in the right." Weiss watched Ironwood walk down the courtyard towards the door but stop to look in their direction. Their talk was almost up. "Is that why he's so bitter towards us?"

"No." Kushina got to her feet in preparation to greet the General. "Naruto is bitter because he was subjected to things he shouldn't have, and it allowed him to see the world from a skewed perception. He doesn't view the world the same as us, and I doubt he ever well. Has he ever told you that no matter what he does, he's not a hero? To him, he's a villain, not because of how he chooses to act, but because of how the world will see his actions. Good things happen to good people, or so they say. But the reality of the world is that good and evil, right and wrong, their just words used to describe something you hate or like. Naruto hates the way the world works and would like nothing more than to change it, but then it'd be in his image and thus, it wouldn't be the one anyone would want. It's why he's not a religious person. Heaven is a place that is supposed to be created in your image and to your liking, but it's all one place for everyone, so therefore, we are in heaven, but it is truly hell."

Ironwood came to a stop in front of them and gave the two a warm smile. "Ms. Schnee… Kushina…" He greeted and then paused when her arms crossed and her tail began to twitch in irritation. "I suppose you wanna walk about Naruto?"

"And much more, General. I know about a need to know basis, but I think I'm a little deserving to know my son is alive, not dead like how everyone else told me he was." She started walking and Ironwood inclined his head in departure from the young heiress. "How long has he been working for you in secret?"

"I can't give you that information." James confessed bitterly and tiredly. A late-night meeting with the Council and with his fellow teachers back in Atlas had worn him very thin. "I'll tell you that he's been pardon from all crimes in Atlas and here. Not that he's done anything illegal to our knowledge here." Kushina came to an immediate stop and pointed a lecturing finger at him. His gaze hardened and he was no longer the man she trusted, but rather, listened to. "You weren't informed Naruto was here because he's working for me on a top-secret operation."

Her eyes hardened and James felt fear in the back of his mind. Kushina might not have ever used her Semblance on him, but he knew that if she had wanted to, she would do it without a second thought.

"So, when is he coming back home?"

"That I don't know. That one is up to him. I'd like nothing more than for him to return as well. The Council will not be able to decide when he returns or if he can return. That is up to him." The fox Faunus looked away, sad by the news. Ironwood inhaled deeply and put a hand on her shoulder. "But you mustn't give up hope that he'll come home one day. I still have a position for him, should he ever decide to return and I know he still has a home waiting for him on that day. But until that day comes, you should let him be who he wants to be, Kushina. I know that right now you are simply a worried mother hoping to take your son away from this place and look after him like the good parent that you are. He spoke highly of you when I was around him. Believe me, he'll come back to you one day."

Realizing that nothing else needed to be said, the General left and Kushina sadly returned to the apartment to wait for her son. _Minato, what would you do right now?_

(-)

Melanie and Miltia waited patiently for their love to return his focus on them. He was busy with another call, one that was most likely directed to someone in his past, as his words were more than a little concerning and choice with whoever he spoke with. Miltia waited on hand and foot for him to get done with the call while Melanie decided to sip on her drink. Junior, thankfully, was working the bar at the moment and couldn't be dragged into whatever drama the blond was becoming a part of.

"I'm not talking to you, I'm talking to your boss." Naruto nearly laughed when another voice came over the line. It did wonders for him to just speak to such odd people from time to time. How did they put up with him, he didn't know? It was amazing that the organization even put up with him. But that was obviously for their own benefit as Naruto had brought them more victories than anyone else to date. Not even their supposed super computer could do what he did from time to time, and it was supposed to be made up of the greatest minds in all of Remnant.

" _Hello, child. Do you know what time it is here?"_ And old woman spoke now. Her voice was calm and peaceful, like a gentle stream in a forest. Naruto had always thought it strange that the woman could have such a disarming voice and yet be the cruelest woman he ever ran across. No one double crossed her without living and no one escaped her watchful eyes without outside help in shielding them. Once she set her sights on you, she had you.

"I know that an old bat like you doesn't sleep. You're Insomnia is actually linked to your Semblance." Now he was back to his regular self. With her now taking his call, it was time to get to work. "I'd like a favor."

" _You used up your favors, child. You have no more power over me."_

"Constantine," he said quickly. There was a long hiss on the other end of the line. "You haven't found him yet, have you?"

A long pause followed. He had her.

"I know where he is. I can give you the paperwork to find him. All you have to do for me is supply me with my old team. I only need two of them. I think you know which ones I'm talking about."

" _Are you hunting someone or something?"_

"Something… I'd fill you in, but I'd have to kill you afterwards."

She laughed. _"Better men than you have tried and failed. Besides, I'm not much for fighting anymore."_

"You're right. You don't fight a physical battle anymore. That time has come and gone like the howling winds of a snow covered peak. But your battle is now one of words and motives. You shield yourself with one hand and you bait your enemies with tempting words and promises of revenge. So how about a trade? I give you the information on him, and you send over my old friends? Do we have a deal?"

A strange cackle sounded on the other end. _"We have an accord. I'll send them over. Supply the details to me of my target, and I'll send them over to any destination you'd like. However, understand that I work with time. So, do not waste it."_ The line went dead.

He pocketed his scroll, inhaled and looked at the sealing. _And now we're back on schedule._ He glanced at the bar and saw someone taking measurements of it. "He's replacing the whole thing?" he asked Miltia quietly. He snuck a kiss on her cheek. She blushed and almost turned away from him in embarrassment. Melanie gave him a cold set of eyes. Naruto didn't notice it. "Why? Because of my face being imprinted on the thing?"

"Well that and the fact that with all the money he got from a generous donator that went unknown to us, he decided to redo even the bar and make it look better. The place was kind of outdated anyways." She slinked her arm around his waist and looked at her sister for only a moment. "Hey," she patted his chest and looked at him with pleading eyes, "do you wanna come over to our place tonight? With your mom at yours it would make it very awkward if we showed up and decided to spend time together in front of her." Plus, there were other things that needed to be said to him.

Scratching at his chin, he momentarily looked over his girlfriend and then to her sister. He looked clueless as to why they would want to spend time with him at their place rather than his. They had to meet his mother eventually. Maybe he could sneak them over tomorrow? He agreed and the short haired sister smiled while giving her less than pleased sister a thumbs-up to show they were on. Whatever they had planned was beyond Naruto at the moment. He had more important things to focus on, like how he was going to get his mother to leave and keep the organization from gunning her down. So far, she hadn't done anything to impede him, but how long would that last?

Construction on the club was being handled rather well and without Juniors' henchmen around to both play as guards and waiters, things were running a lot smoother than expected. Naruto might not have had a direct hand in fronting the bill for this, but he knew who the person was. It was almost impossible to not know. Two sets of people had screwed over his area and both were being held responsible for the damages that they had either indirectly or directly caused.

Tayuya took over as bouncer in Kiba's stead because of his injuries. Naruto was acting as a secondary bouncer in case she had problems and with all the people still showing up to party, but given her abilities, she was more than capable of dealing with them. Naruto relayed that he was heading out and made sure she was okay. She gave him the all clear and he departed with the twins in tow.

The twins lived in a rather rich portion of Vale where people with higher paying jobs made their home. It wasn't as great as it was generally made out to be, but it worked well enough for the twins. They lived in an apartment with two bedrooms and two baths. Their kitchen was rather small when compared to their rooms which were both set up to their corresponding colors. The twins departed to change in to better clothes and left him alone in their living room where he looked at a few photos that lined the walls. He focused on one of a woman with long black hair and an eye patch covering her left eye.

"That's our mom," Miltia told him. Naruto turned and found her wearing blue jeans and a red shirt that was almost a size too big for her and the neck stretched to where her left shoulder was visible. A few minutes later Melanie walked out of her room wearing a pair of white colored short shorts and a tank top. "Back when she was still around." Naruto looked one last time at the photo before eyeing the two girls strangely. "We felt that we needed to talk about us with you." He arched a brow in reply. "You showing affection to me in public is great, and we know that you've been busy these last few weeks since you told us you'd date us both, but here as of lately, you haven't really spent a lot of time with Melanie, and while I'm certainly happy to see you showing affection to me, Melanie needs to know that you care for her as well. You can't do this to her if you intend to date us both. Or are you just trying to make her happy?"

The blond-haired Faunus looked at the long-haired twin for a moment before looking back at the photo of their mom. "I told you once that I'm not good with relationships, Miltia. It's not that I don't understand them, it's just that I'm not capable of moving past my mistakes, my former partners, or the one sin I can never atone for."

"And we understand, but you have to talk to us so that we know what's wrong." Melanie told him. Her eyes narrowed when he didn't look away from the photo. "You think you know people so well that you know how they think, how they act. You look for information in everything and want to know everything because at some point in your life, you didn't have the facts or the information needed to do something. I don't know why you became the way you are, but I know that you became this way because something went wrong in your life and you made a deal with the devil to get it fixed. And you're still paying the devil because you can't see a way out."

He touched the photo and shook his head. "My debt is paid. I paid it off a long-long time ago. What I do now, I do because there is no other way. If there was a way, I don't see it." His chest began to hurt and he winced. "But you're close to the truth about me. I did suffer from something like that. I lost someone important to me, that much you know. But before any of that I was told that knowledge is power. I saw the way Faunus were treated, and I hated it. I wanted to fix it. Someone called me a dumb animal, so I became smart to prove him wrong. Someone told me I was a weak freak, so I got strong to prove them wrong. When they said, I could never plan ahead, I learned how to plan ahead. Everything I've done until now is to prove someone else wrong because I didn't like being weak, stupid, or someone who didn't look to the future."

Sighing, he turned and faced them. They were closer than he had thought. For just a moment he saw someone else behind them. A ghostly image of a woman outlined by yellow aura. He blinked and it was gone.

"When I was very little I got a boyfriend and he loved me," Miltia confessed. She grabbed Naruto's hand and pulled him to the table. "He told me we'd be together, but as children we didn't understand what that meant. He told me one day that he would wait for me because he was going to Shade Academy. I called him every day. We talked for hours. Then one day I took time off from Junior's and went to see him. I found him sleeping with another woman. I hated that he did that. I hated her because she took him from me. When you told me you wanted nothing attached, I was relieved. It meant I couldn't be hurt by anything you did. If you slept with another woman, I understood that our relationship meant nothing. But then I felt something for you. You were different. You were here, you showed me kindness and never once lied to me. When I saw you with my sister, I hated you and thought you were him. But then you said you'd date us both and only show me affection in the public, and I was happy. But I realized that my happiness meant nothing if my sister was suffering from bitterness and sorrow at the sight of us holding hands in town."

"So, we decided that it wasn't fair to me and that you should do the same," Melanie continued where her sister left off. Naruto watched her sit down at the table on his left. Miltia took his right side. "You are kind, strong, swift, and brave. But you have also inflicted wounds upon yourself and its time you start to heal." Her hand grasped his and for a moment his mind emptied. He could feel her soul and her sadness, as she could feel his. "You have fought for something that no one understands because you won't talk about it. I did my research on you. That day that Junior sent me to you, I realized you had a darker past than most. Your father, a man you hated and loved, died by someone else's hands. You looked up to him and what you always saw was not what you wanted. Your mother was the radiant one. Not because she was a Faunus, but because she was the stereotype of all mothers. The woman who brought you into this world, loved you, guided you, taught you right from wrong, and was there to see you off with a smile every day. But your father wasn't your father. He was something else."

Miltia grasped his right hand and he saw something ahead of him. An image of a man in armor holding a flaming sword in his left hand and a ball of energy in his right. The image came and went faster than he could follow or wanted to follow.

"I hated my father," Naruto told them quietly. "He was there for me when I needed him, but he wasn't my father. He was a friend. He loved me because I was his son, but he was never going to be my father. Some part of me wanted to see him as that important figure, but he didn't know how to be a father. When he died…" He looked away and got up. Melanie held him down and was shocked when he didn't fight here. "When he died, I was sad and happy at the same time. The man who had been my first friend was gone, but my father was never what he was. He was always away on jobs and that part of me loved him because of the stories he would tell me when he came back. How he went and rescued cities and small towns and beat his enemy back to the shadows. I loved those stories, but as time passed I realized his stories were nothing but stories. He made them up because he was part of the Death Squad of Atlas; a group of highly trained and highly skilled soldiers that only went out to kill certain heavily guarded people in the world. If you had the money, you could pay for their services, and Ironwood would allow them to go out and do their job so long as it never involved one of his friends for a damn good reason. My father is no different from me; a murderer that kills for money."

"How did he die?" Miltia asked him.

Naruto looked up at the ceiling. They didn't have the rough ceiling like he had. He couldn't make out images in the dots. He never realized how much he missed that until now. "He was killed after completing an operation in Menagerie. He was sent there to assassinate a member of the White Fangs' council. I don't know if he succeeded. But he was betrayed by a member of his team who was a part of the White Fang. Since he was acting leader, he was told who the target was and kept the information to himself until they got to the target. From there, things went south."

"Why is there no information on this attack or Op?"

Naruto shut his eyes and looked at the hard-oak table they sat at. "It was the price I paid…" The twins knew what that meant. That was how the organization got him. But that still begged one final question to them. "The man who did it is dead." He confessed without being asked. He got up and this time wasn't put down. "Melanie, I'm sorry if I've hurt you. It was never my intention to hurt you emotionally or physically. The last relationship I had, she left me for some idiot. I'm sure Kiba would have a more racial thing to say about him, but that's how always is. I'd kill them both if I could, but I can't… not yet anyways. And I learned that having someone important in your life just makes them a target. I know you can both fight. I've seen you beat up the drunks that show up and the idiots that try to rob the place from time to time. But I still leave in fear of that happening. So, I pushed you both away as far as I could… But it hurt me more in the end."

"You are damaged, hurt, and you have inflicted all of these wounds on yourself, and for what reason?" Miltia asked, sounding tired.

Lowering his head, a droplet fell from his face and for once Miltia didn't see him as the man that had warmed her bed, defended them from random muggers and wannabe robbers, but as a man broken and beaten by time and defeat.

"I have seen things you wouldn't believe," he told her softly. "I have lost things you could never understand. And I know things. Secrets that must never be told. Knowledge that must never be spoken. I have killed people for no reason other than to move them out of my way, and I've let terrible people roam free when I was ordered to kill them. I can never undo the things I've done. I've done so many terrible things that when I close my eyes I can hear more screams than anyone could ever be able to count." He grit his teeth and gasped for air. "I have sent good men to their deaths and shielded the worst of all people. I have used people until they are of no use to me and thrown them away! Do you know what you do with that pain? You hold tight in your hand! Till it burns. I learned the hard way on how much that hurts and I vowed to never let anyone else feel that pain again. I tell myself that no one will have to live like me. Not on my watch."

"So, you'll sacrifice yourself, your happiness, your life? And all because you can't stand the idea of someone suffering like how you have?" Miltia wrapped her around his body and put her head in the center of his back. "Let me hear those screams for you. Let me silence them with my voice. My words. My feelings."

Eyes closed, voices poured into his mind and screams followed. His screams mixed in them and he wavered where he stood. The pain followed soon after. His chest heaved and his heart felt like it was being squeezed. He saw Sakura again, as she lay dying from her injuries by the Grimm. Tears feel from his eyes.

Melanie snaked her around his waist and leaned her head on his shoulder. "I'll take away your pain for the night. Tomorrow… things will be different. Promise me you'll warm our beds and I'll be happy."

He shook his head. "No. I'll show you affection as well in town. I'll be a proper boyfriend to you as well, but you'll have to help me as well. I'm not good with relationships, okay? So, if I step out of line, just tell me." She smiled and kissed him gently. "Are you okay with this, Miltia? I'm dating you as well, so you have a say in this." 

"As long as you show us both affection, whether that's gifts, time alone with you, or just dinner, I'm okay with it. But if you end up marrying her, you're marrying me too, got it?" He laughed and nodded, for once smiling again. Melanie practically danced to her room and motioned for them to follow. Miltia stopped him and gave her sister a knowing look as she turned and faced the blond. "You said the man died, but was it worth it? Did it take away your pain or leave you wanting more?" she asked quietly.

Naruto glanced at the small table that sat beside their couch where he had left his weapons. His eyes glistened with silent rage for just a moment, and she got her answer when he smiled back at her. "I'm okay with it," he told her. She smiled but deep down knew he had lied to her. Whether it was for her protection or simply because he couldn't make that leap, she didn't know. But she understood that the man who killed his father was put in the ground by him. The pair of pistols he carried had probably tasted human flesh for the first time through that person and the sad truth was that it wasn't meant for him, but most likely his father who was never the father he wanted him to be. "Let's go join Melanie before she does something we'll both regret." He scooped up Miltia and added, "If I marry anyone first, it'd be you. Just saying," as they walked into the bedroom to find the long-haired sister naked and waiting for them.

The night was spent with little love making as the emotional toll had winded him greatly. He slept with both girls in his arms and naked beside him. When sleep finally took him he heard a voice not his own and not of the twins singing a song.

" _Rest now…my warrior~!"_

(-)

Yang held her breath as she found the location she was to meet Raven at. As far as bad places went, it wasn't anything like the last place when she started this journey. It was a dark forest free of the clutter of human hands. There were Grimm that lived in the forest and had made it very clear to be their nesting grounds.

But her reason for truly holding her breath was the smell and the sounds of fleshing ripping. That had been the sound she had followed, thinking that maybe she would stumble across someone that was hurt and in need of help. Her hero complex might have been kicking in at that moment, or her need for adventure.

She started running to the sound as the ripping got louder and the cries of pain began to die down in favor of a hungering howl. The sight she found was that of a large monster eating something. She stopped immediately upon seeing it and got ready to fight it when it looked her way with red eyes narrowing on her form before turning to eating the corpse of whatever it had killed. She reeled back and run at it to end it.

"Stop!"

Yang came to a suddenly halt and turned to face her mother. She looked just like how she did in the photo she had seen of her all those years ago, but now she wore a Grimm mask that covered her entire face from view. The woman slowly pulled it off and smiled at her.

"You are so like me it's actually scary. How Tai would have put up with the two of us, I'll never know, but I do like that fire in you. Shows promise if you can live to cultivate it." Yang swung at her and missed. Raven danced around her daughter, laughing as she did. "Is this how you envisioned our first moment together in years? You, trying desperately to him me, while I dance around you?"

"Why did you leave?" Yang didn't stop throwing punches. The fact she couldn't hit her only made her more infuriated. True, her mother was a very powerful woman, but she should still measure up to her somehow, right? "You left dad and me and it destroyed him. Why did you leave?"

Raven raised a hand and caught Yang's fist, something that didn't so much alarm her as it did please her. Raven was powerful, and that was something Yang could now understand. It didn't stop her from swinging with the other fist and getting the same result. Raven held her place long enough to lean in close and smile at her. Her red eyes were almost full of joy were it not for the danger she was putting them both in.

Yang tore herself from her grasp and rolled her wrists.

"You see a threat and you move to remove it. I like that. Not many people are willing to fight things head on like the two of us. It's our stubborn way, really. I'd rather go through something than around it. Oum knows that always annoyed me about Tai, but damn if he wasn't fast on his feet and skilled for combat. You might not be as good as you are without his bullheadedness."

The buxom blond snarled and felt warm air on the back of her neck. She spun and saw the creature that was eating something right behind her. The red eyes of the beast blinked and it tilted its head to the side as if were confused. It took a few sniffs of her and moved around her to the shadows when it began to sniff the air again.

"What is that thing?" Yang asked.

Raven watched it depart and then focused back on her daughter. "It's not a thing. It's a person." She started walking around Yang as her daughter tried to find where the creature went. Whatever it was and wherever it went was beyond her. So instead she focused on her mother as the woman came to a stop. "You've been looking for me to punch me, right? And ask a simple question with a very painful truth? Do you want to know why I really left? Why I ran away from you and Tai and my team? Is that what you want?"

"Yes!"

Raven licked her lips. "I went to a lot of trouble to save you here. You've done a lot of digging and a lot of annoying things to try and find me. You know that I work for a group that does terrible things, and yet you kept looking for me, despite being told how dangerous it was for you. And all for the sake of an answer and a little punch that I might let you hit me with. You don't even know the lengths I've gone to just to make sure you live to see another day. The group I work for pushed for me to kill you." Yang bristle and got ready to fight for her life. Raven shook her head. "I could never kill you, Yang. You're my daughter. I love you. I love you so much that it hurts me every day that I'm away from you. Every single day I was away from you I worried about you. And when you started looking, they grew worried."

"Why? Because they knew I'd find you?"

"No. Because they feared you'd be able to find them during their infancy. Now that two of the Headmasters of the world know about us, they don't care if we're known about. The protection of their members is the most important thing they have, but our duty, our operations, that part they don't care about. The world knows that our target is the most powerful of Grimm that live in this world. But they don't want their base of operations to be known to the world. Even a few of our oldest members don't know where its located because they've never left it. It's not a place I can show you on a map. But," Yang held her breath, "if you want to see how far this rabbit hole goes, I'll take you there. I'll take you home. I'll take you somewhere faraway so we can talk this out. But if you do, you will know things that you can never repeat to anyone. You will take a vow of silence and if they call for you, you have no choice but to answer their call."

Yang glanced away for a moment.

"You think I like living apart from you? I don't. But this life… this… this horrible life I live, is not one I want you to have. No mother should have to watch their daughter suffer and not be able to be there for her. No mother should miss their daughters' first crush breaking their heart and being there for them. I should have been there for so many of your firsts, but I wasn't. It hurt so much just to watch from outside as you found what your Semblance was and you nearly got expelled from school for the beating you gave that kid. I should have been there when Zinc broke up with you and you cried for two days in your bed. I should have been there when you got your license. I should have been there when you got your first kiss. Do you know how that made me feel? You think you hurt because you never got a chance to really know me or that you were told I ran away from you and Tai? I hurt more because as a mother, I couldn't be there for you!"

Raven felt tears begin to form in the corner of her eyes.

"I would like nothing more than to hold you every hour of every day, but I can't. I would like to hope that you never have to live like me or feel my pain, but I realized a long time ago that you will feel that way all the time because it happens anyways. Your child will go to school, and you will watch them leave for that first time forever. You will worry about them while they're in class. You will worry about them when are on their way home. You will worry about the people they speak to. You will worry about their first love breaking their heart. You will worry about the first time they leave the house for an Academy or a job or college. You will worry and hurt because of this. And I wouldn't wish this on you, but it'll happen. It's part of being a mother."

Yang growled and looked right through her in fear as a large Beowulf appeared behind Raven and was in mid-swing to cleave her head from her shoulders. Her mouth opened and the creature went sideways as something slammed into it and drove it to the ground. The creature from before had returned and was devouring the Grimm with gusto.

Blinking, she watched it eat the Grimm after carving through its throat with its claws.

"What is this thing?" Yang repeated her earlier question while pointing at it.

"Richtor," Raven called out. He turned to the sound of his voice with a large chunk of flesh hanging from his mouth. He flipped it up and gobbled it down while waiting for her. "Please, don't play with your food."

"Richtor? Richtor, as in the person that was with Naruto?" Yang pointed at him. "You left me to raise a monster?!" Yang stared at him as he tilted his head as if trying to process her words before he went back to eating. Eyes widening in shock, she backed up and said, "What is he?"

Raven stood beside her daughter for the first time in a long time, and put a hand on her shoulder. Smiling, Raven watched as Richtor finished eating the Grimm and started sniffing the air for more. "He's proof of what happens when you take faith too far. When you play God with science and take your creations to a point of questionable ethics or abilities. Or… he's proof of an evolution in all of us. What do you think?"

Yang opened her mouth as she looked up at her mouth with worried eyes. "Fire Cracker!" She shrieked and backed up. He was large and somehow managed to get close enough to her that he had been right in her face. "Fire Cracker! Fire Cracker!" he chanted while doing a little dance. He looked like a dog that was happy to see its master of a long time.

"We're leaving, Richtor." She drew her sword and looked to Yang. "If you come with me, there is no going back. You need to know that. So, make your choice. And then live with it."

She swung her sword and a portal appeared. Yang looked at the portal and then to her mom. Richtor walked through it and disappeared. Raven shut her eyes and held out her hand. Yang took it and together they walked through the portal. Yang shut her eyes and opened them when she felt hard floors beneath her feet. She opened her eyes and looked around at room lined with photos and books. Richtor was in the middle of turning back to his human form. Yang opened her mouth in awe as he stood upright and licked his lips before retreating to his room to do something.

The portal died away and Raven put her weapon by the door and her helmet on the couch.

"I wish you didn't come, but I'm happy you did." Yang looked around the room they were in. "So many times, I thought of snatching you up from him and bringing you here. This room, while a makeshift living room, was your room. When I first got this place, I noticed it had three bedrooms to it. I was overjoyed. I thought I could convince Tai to come live with me and work for them, but when I returned to him, he told me no."

Her nails dug into her palm and she wasn't aware she was bleeding.

Yang looked at one of the photos and smiled. It was a photo of her when she was five playing with a little boy with silver hair. Another photo showed her crush and her standing side-by-side and holding hands. She was ten at the time. It was taken directly before they broke up.

"I tried so hard to reason with him. I wanted you in my life so badly that I thought of a way to snatch you up one night. Bring you here. But then rational thinking kicked in and realized that if I did that, I would be doing the same thing to Tai that I never wanted to feel, and I couldn't do that to him. No matter how much I hated him for saying you couldn't be in my life." 

"Why did dad do that?"

Raven sat down on the couch with an audible sigh of frustration. "When you were little, tensions were high between Vacuo and Vale. We were at a bad pass and with Vale having better Hunters at the end of the war, they realized that they needed help with something. Qrow found the information for Ozpin and told him about it. Ozpin got in contact with the Headmaster and told him he could send a team. He sent Summer and I to deal with it. We agreed and found a home that belonged to the Cult of the Worm, a group that worshipped the Grimm. We found so many books on Grimm and their religious nature. And we found bodies. So many bodies carefully preserved and eaten without bit marks to their flesh. That was where we found Richtor. Whether he's the creation of science taken too far, evolution, or faith taken to the absolute limit, we don't know. But he's part Grimm. He's called a Grimm Eater. He eats Grimm to survive. While he can normal food and it'll tide him over, the hunger will get him eventually and he'll eat humans to quench that hunger. He's done it before."

Richtor returned holding a black shard of something putrid. He was munching on it absentmindedly as he walked over to a photo and picking it up. He smiled at it and left with the picture.

"Richtor, dear, please bring that back. I know it's your favorite, but please bring it back." He whined and returned the photo to its spot before slinking off. "Richtor, please stay here." He perked up and walked back into the room with a smile. "When we became aware of what he was and how he had bonded with me, I tried to take him home." Her eyes hardened and rage boiled within them. "I knew I couldn't hide what he was from Tai, so I told him what he was and he called him a freak. Tai gave me a choice between Richtor and you. I knew that the organization wanted me to raise him or they were going to take you all away from me completely. So, I had decided to raise Richtor in the hopes that one day I could see you again and speak with you. But I never thought it'd be like this. When I finally got a chance to see you again, I was so relieved that I forgot about Richtor for a moment. I tried to speak with Tai again, but he ignored me and turned me away because he saw Richtor with me."

"So, you made a choice to raise a monster instead of your own daughter. Aren't you the mom of the year. If I had an award for you, I'd give it to you." 

"I deserve it for the way I treated you. Not being there for you was the worst thing in my life." She smiled and looked at her daughter with warm eyes. "But then I did get to be around you. So did Richtor." She motioned to the photo he had taken and Yang retrieved it. It was one of herself with Ruby when they were really little. Ruby was probably a year or two in the photo and there was another boy beside her. He looked confused as to what was happening, but Yang was hugging him and looking quite joyful about it. "This was the first time I got to be around you again. You called me the Nice Lady, because I gave you candy. Summer made this happen, and nothing I do will ever repay the debt I owe her. I owe her so much."

Yang blinked and for a moment she remembered screams and terror. There were was ripping and eating noises behind her. The moment faded and she looked at Richtor as the strange teen looked over her shoulder at the photo with a smile. "She was nice," he said. "I never saw her again. I wonder what happened to her after I left." He chewed his lip and walked to another set of photos that lined the wall. Yang stared at the photo longer and then put it back.

"So you raised Richtor, but still wanted to raise me? Why couldn't you make dad understand? Richtor is…" she paused as she tried to think of a way to describe him.

"He's unique, powerful, strange, and something no one has ever seen before." Raven motioned to the spot beside her. Yang sat down and inched closer to her. "When we discovered what Richtor was and what he could do, a lot of people were terrified of him. They feared him enough that they started thinking of ways to contain him should he become a threat. Naturally, whatever they thought of didn't work because he was smart enough, strong enough, or durable enough that it didn't affect him. But now they've had time to see that while he is powerful, he is very obedient to me. If I asked him to eat all of Vale, he would without a second thought. Because I saved him and raised him, he listens to me and only the people I tell him too." She put a hand on Yang's shoulder. "When you were little, I took him to see you and I told him you were important to me. He vowed from that moment on to watch over you when he could. Although I doubt he remembers it, he did save you once. I'm sure you don't remember it either."

Yang looked at Richtor as he walked to another side of the wall to look at the photos.

"Why is he so strange around people? He has no social skills to speak of."

"That's because he has limited interactions after an incident when he was little. He killed a bunch of kids once and from there it was decided he couldn't be taken into those settings anymore. Since then the only kids' he's been around are those in the organization that have both worked for us or have families here that are being trained to be elite warriors. He's basically worked with nothing but adults since the incident. Cruel, but it was their orders and nothing I could do would change their mind. Just getting them to let me be around you was a hard enough task, let alone getting them to agree to allow me to bring you here and talk to with you about this."

"So, what is Richtor to me then?"

Richtor perked up and knelt down in front of her, sniffing her a few more times.

"Well, since you're both here and he will be returning to Naruto to complete his mission, I think it's safe to say that he's your older brother." She folded her arms and turned away from him. Richtor twitched his nose and pointed to himself. "Yes, Richtor. That means that she is your younger sister. And as her older brother, I ask that you watch out for her. I know you can't go to her school, but I know you can keep an eye on her. Just remember that if she calls for help, you come running. Understand?" He nodded and stood to his full height. "Yang, you have to know that Richtor isn't are most powerful asset and that if you ever tell anyone about this, you will be hunted down and killed. I don't expect you to understand anything I tell you or believe me when I say that I made a choice that would save your life, because you are the most important thing in my life."

"Next to him!" she accused. Raven shut her eyes tightly as she willed down her maternal instincts to lecture the girl. "You choose him in the end over me!"

"I did what I did because there was no other way. Do you think that I could let you die if I refused to mother him? Do you think I could watch them kill you?" Yang's face twitched and she felt something stir behind the room she was in. It was terror that she felt. "What did Tai tell you when I left? Did he tell you that I left you because I hated you? That I couldn't stand the idea of trying to raise you? Or did he take the easy way out and just tell you I died? But I doubt he did that because he'd have to produce a grave and you haven't seen my grave because there is none. He buried his first dog that was gobbled up by a Grimm. If you dig up that grave there is no body, just an casket with a small collar as proof that he once lived. But he didn't get rid of my photos or anything that linked me to him. I know him. I know him well. So I know that he didn't take the easy way out. He told you I was a terrible person and Qrow backed him up. My own brother, whom I cared for and served as the person handing me over to him at our wedding, couldn't even understand why I did what I did. To be fair, I never told him."

Raven got to her feet and licked her pursed lips as she fought back a wave of anger and sadness.

"Hate me or love me, I don't care which. But understand that by me telling you this, you're now in service to them. At some point in your life they will come for you and they will you to do something. On that day, remember this day and remember the choice that you made. If they ask the impossible of you, you have to make it possible. Because there is no place you can run that they can't find you. There is no one strong enough to stop them if they come. You can have an army, and they can send one person to kill you, and destroy that army. There are people here with powers so terrifying that I sometimes have trouble sleeping at night. You think Richtor is a monster, but he's not. Because beneath my feet, in the room right below mine, there is a man who cannot die. He has tried to die so many times that he has given up hope for death. He has suffered so much that that his mind is warped and reality has shattered with him. There are days I have spoken with him and I note that he isn't just talking to me, but to another person, unseen, in that room. Five rooms down there is a woman who killed her entire family, her entire village, because she enjoys seeing people bleed. There is a man in Mistral with a Semblance so terrifying that it the idea of it even being a real power is insane. And you know what's worse; it's a Semblance similar to yours! The only difference is that his degrades his higher brain functions in favor of survivability. The more damage he takes, the more of his brain functions are repressed to make him stronger, more durable, and faster. And he will kill everyone to get away from them. So before you think he's a monster with terrible power, know that I sleep in an area with people so inhumane that I wish they didn't exist."

"Even if that is true, why do this? Because of him? Because of some desire to protect me from afar without being a part of my life? You became a stalker! Did you think that you could change my mind about you or about him when you told me what he is?"

"Then you're going to die stupid!" Raven pointed a lecturing finger at her nose and Yang tried to swat it away. "I've done so many terrible things that it makes me more of a monster than Richtor ever could be. I could turn him on Vale or Atlas or Vacuo, and it still wouldn't make him near the monster I am. I abandoned you. I killed to protect you. I have done so many horrible things, and I did it to protect you, your sister, the world. I mean, if you think I don't understand what you're going through, try to think about what I've gone through, for you! Look at me! I'm an unforgivable person for the things I've done, but I forgive you for hating me. Because it's my duty as a mother."

Richtor whimpered and looked to his mom with longing as she began to cry on the spot.

"I hope that one day you understand me better. Maybe I shouldn't have done this, but it was the only way to save you. They were living in fear of you finding them, so they were making plans to kill you. I saved you. Know that. But if you speak a word of this to anyone, they will know. They will find you. And then they will take you away. Maybe they don't kill you. Maybe they do something worse. Maybe they make a murderer out of you. Maybe they bring you so close to death you wish for it, but then drag you back. Or maybe they threaten you with the life of your sister, your friends… Tai…"

Yang bit her bottom lip. Raven grabbed her sword and slowly drew it.

"Think on what I told you. But you should return to your friends." She swung and the portal formed. "This will take you back to the forest. From there, you do what you want. But know that I love you. Don't ever forget that, Yang."

The blond fighter got to her feet and moved to the portal. She stopped and looked at Richtor as he watched her stop in front of the portal. "Will he always be watching me?" Raven nodded silently. She turned on him and pointed at his chest. "If you spy on me while I'm in the shower, I swear, they will never find your body."

"Why would I spy on you in the shower?"

"Just… Just don't." Yang left and found herself back in the forest where she found Qrow walking out from behind a tree. "Hey Uncle." He looked behind her and then smiled. "I have a few things I'd like to ask you about."

"Sure, kid."

A\N

Sorry that this chapter is so long. This was a chapter that couldn't be cut into parts because, well, I never found a place to actually cut it down and there was a lot of emotion that was meant to be carried through it. So obviously I'm a fan of a familiar show. Don't hate me.


	15. The Start of a Story of Blood

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A/N

This story is entirely fan-made and fictional. Any acts that you might find offensive, disguising, inhuman, wrong or just don't like, we are not liable for. You are reading this story of your own free will and not being forced, if you don't like something we are not forcing you to stay and read it. Please leave the page and re-frame from reading the chapter and or story. All Copyrighted Characters belong to their respect owners. We don't claim anything that is not our own creation and are merely using them for fan made material.

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Chapter 15

Naruto's eyes opened at the sound of singing and hastily he reached for his gun that was under his pillow that wasn't there. He was sleeping in a field of flowers outside a small house with a wooden fence, a lush garden of varying fruits and vegetables. Smoke billowed out a stone chimney while the only window showed a small room lit by a single candle. The voice grew louder and louder as he circled around the small house until he came across a woman with long hair wearing a simple dress. She sat on a small boulder looking over the hillside where the towns below raged with fire and smoke.

 _Rest now…. My warrior_

 _Rest now, your hardship is over._

 _Live. Wake up. Wake up._

 _And let the cloak, of life – cling to your bones. Cling to your bones._

 _Wake up, wake up._

 _Live. Wake up. Wake up._

 _And let the cloak, of life – cling to your bones. Cling to your bones._

 _Wake up! Wake up!_

 _Live! Wake up! Wake up!_

 _And let the cloak! Of life! Cling to your bones! Cling to your bones!_

 _Wake up! Wake up!_

She stopped singing and looked his way. Naruto stared at her strangle as she got up and gracefully walked up to him, her hands working like magic and touched the side of his face. He bristled at the cool and rough touch. His chest hurt and she whipped away a tear that fell down his cheek. His mouth twitched as if he were going to say something, but nothing came out. She put a finger on his lips and smiled softly as she took him by the hand and brought him back to the top of the hill. The village was alive with life. The fires were out and the people were joined by the hand as they gave praise to a statue of a man in armor he could barely make out from this distance.

"You always cry when I sing this song. What do you think I was singing about?" she asked. Her voice reminded him of a woman that always dreamed of being a mother. One that was caring and understanding. Always the nurturer and never the scolder. Her smile was radiant.

Looking back out over the top of the hill, he licked his lips and dried his eyes. He didn't even remember crying. "You were signing about someone that died on a battlefield. It sounds like you were trying to bring him back with your song." She nodded. "Why did you sing for me?" He looked around and found her by the garden. She was tending to it now and working diligently to clean out the weeds. Naruto moved to her side and knelt down to help her. "Have we met before? I feel like I know you."

She shook her head. "You and I have never directly met, but you have met the future me." She gently removed a small weed that pulled up part of the potato. Naruto put his hand on it and gently pushed it down. She gave him the same radiant smile as before. "Do you know who I am?" He shook his head. "One can hardly blame you when you live the life you do, but take a guess anyways."

Resting on his knees, he took a long look at her before shaking his head. "I don't know. I'm not good at guessing names."

"Then forget a name. What do I remind you of?"

"A mother figure that never got to be a mother of her own child." She nodded. "But that's not the answer you're looking for, is it?" She nodded again and he got up. He looked around the place. Images of a woman in a white and blue kimono overtook him at a tree where she sat and meditated. But just as quickly as it appeared, it was gone. The leaves began to turn golden and a chilling air began to stir. "Fall…" he whispered. Pain surged through his chest and the woman from the pod came clearly to his mind. For only a moment he fell completely to the soft soil and gripped his chest. "You remind me of her. The girl in the pod… Amber. Why? Why do you remind me of her?" 

"Because my name is Fall. And that woman has my power now." She helped him to his feet and beckoned him inside. "You'll have to forgive my intrusion, but what do you think of me, Cleaver Boy." 

He snorted in disgust to the name. "I think you are radiant and kind." The words that left his mouth left him befuddled. She giggled and he looked around for a moment. She was gone, but the door to the small house was left open. Growling, he entered and then hastily exited to walk around the entire thing before going back in. "What the…"

"That's always every one of your hosts' first words!"

Naruto turned and found her shutting the door, clapping and smiling. "Though it pains me to be indoors on such a lovely day, we must talk in here. I'm afraid my warrior is too sentimental and worried to leave this place. He fears that if he leaves, he will forget. For him, forgetting something is almost as taboo as saying Sakura is around you." Naruto didn't have the strength to lash out at her. Her presence made him calm and eased the pain of hearing her name. "But come. You must meet him. He has waited so long to see you. He's much like the Hermit that used to live here before my sisters and I showed up."

"Fall," a calm voice called out from behind some books. Naruto looked in the direction and then glanced at the door. "Let me speak to him." She disappeared without another word spoken. Naruto felt his chest constrict in pain once more and shut his eyes to ignore it. "Her departure hurts me more."

Out stepped a man in regal armor in the form of a fox. A sword lay draped against the table, the black blade elegant and pristine, as though it had never been used. His armor, old as it was, looked as new as though it were made yesterday. He concealed his entire left side with a cloak of browns and oranges and the insignia of a canine eating a black flame. His hair and eyes were a dark crimson. He wore a mask over the lower half of his face with tiny slits along the side.

"She gave me my name. Called me her Cleaver Little Boy for the longest time instead of the given name, but it grew on me. Though, in terms of age, I suppose she does still have me beat by one year. But that's not what matters now." He clapped his hands once and the entire room lit up with witch light from nowhere. Naruto glanced upwards and could see no ceiling or an end to the number of books that rose as high as the clouds. The room was wider than the vault and housed only one small bed, a dresser with four differed colored and styled combs, and an image of a woman with long rabbit ears, wearing a silk white dress. "Go ahead. Say it."

Naruto licked his lips. "It's bigger on the inside," he muttered in disbelief. The stranger nodded with a smile. "How? How is this possible? Where am I?"

"You're still in bed with those two lovely ladies. Not really my taste, but then again, none of my hosts have had the best taste in women. I'm just thankful you don't share my last hosts' sense of fashion. When I started watching you, I feared for that. You wore orange all the time until your mother burned all of your orange shirts. Can't say I blame her. You wore too much of that back then."

Regaining his bearings on the matter, Naruto walked to the desk and looked at the books. They were piled high and he was reminded of his school days. The desk was made of oak and sported a spiral formation on the bottom left hand side. He touched it and recalled drawing that same mark on his desk back home when he still attended school.

"Of all my hosts, you are by far the only one to ever have a good desk. I like you for that. This thing has every kind of storage place I could think of or need. Fall felt I was getting too sentimental with all the things I keep around. But I suppose I should grow out of a few things. Which is why I kept it because I'm a sentimental old bastard. Or cleaver little boy. She's never going to stop with that."

"You never answered my question." Naruto pointed out after a brief moment of silence.

"Not entirely true, but you are right. Currently we are within your mind. Think of that one man who trained you who's Semblance allows him to go into his own little world, and you get the picture with this place. Some have even gone so far as to call this their castle, inner mind, or even mindscape. I just happen to like how I decorate it. It makes me feel quiet at home, actually. This just happens to be the furthest in you've ever come. And not without good reasons. The link wasn't established and you were always rejecting any attempts I made to link with you. Can't say you're the quickest I've linked with either." He scratched at his brow and might have grinned behind his mask. "Care to take a guess on who I am?"

Naruto looked him over and then to the books he kept on his desk. The stranger moved back to his chair and happily sat down with a book cracked open. "How should I know who you are when I have never been told anything about you?"

The stranger sighed. "Oh, that's right. It hasn't happened yet. I do hate waiting, so, for the sake of my sanity, I'll tell you my name. My name is Kurama. I am the Ninth Guardian, and to some, the greatest warrior that ever lived. I'm also called the Death Cheater, Doom Bringing, Fate Bringer, and Upholder of Life. I have cheated death and allowed others to cheat it. I have brought doom to those that would wish what I protect harm. I have brought the fate of many to their knees or lifted them beyond the vail of their own understanding. And worst of all, I have taken life where it should not have been taken. I am Kurama, the Ninth Guardian… And Fall's Cleaver Little Boy!" His eyes widened and he swore in a different language. "I am never going to stop saying that! I'd curse you, Fall, if I could, but that's not in me."

"Damn you Fall!" Naruto said for him. The sword was out in the blink of an eye and a ball of swirling elements in the other hand. Naruto stared him down. "You said…"

"Do not ever swear anything upon her. She is my queen. My…" he looked away, almost as though he were wounded by something from within himself. "I hardly ever lose my temper. But then again, you aren't like any of the other ones' I've been with. You challenge everything because that's who you are and what you do." He put the sword against the desk and sighed in frustration. "How either of those women tolerate you, I'll never know. I mean, even your own…" He stopped and smiled. "Well, that was almost spoilerish."

"Spoilerish?" he repeated, sounding annoyed with the odd word. Naruto walked around the desk and read over his shoulder. Kurama had started to favor the book. He closed the book and sat it down. Naruto picked it up and the read the name. "Stargazer? What kind of book is this?" He paused and considered where they were. "How did you get this? How did you get all of this in here?"

"Well," Kurama picked up another book and smiled softly at the title, "They're not books you get anywhere outside of here. They're books only found here, in my library. Not even the mighty Hermit has these books, though I know he longs for them. Each page, a day he once lived. Each book, a story of a Guardian that fought the good fight." He grew silent and sat the book down to look at the one Naruto held. "But that one is special to me."

"What is it?"

"I just gave you the answer to what it is? I thought you were smart." Naruto snarled at him. "Do you require all information be handed to you? Wait. Don't answer that. Because I know you hate that. You hate riddles and mind games that you're forced into, but you enjoy a good mind game when you can turn it on someone else. I'm sure Sui would have enjoyed having you around during her time. She's just like you, only a woman and the Spring Maiden at the time. Then again, her games weren't so much mind games as they were actual games. When I – I mean when Ranger found her, she was playing a game with five other boys and winning. It was a battle of wits. She whipped them really good."

"You didn't answer my question. And if you know this about me, you know that I'd rather have the answer now given how annoyed I am to be here. How do I leave?"

"You just leave." Kurama motioned to the door. Naruto turned and started walking. "It never gets better, does it?" He stopped at the door, his hand wrapped around the knob. "All those nights you stay up wondering what you did wrong. The mistake you made. The miscalculation that got them all killed. And no. I'm not referring to _her_. I'm referring to _them_." Naruto turned around slowly. "Care to take a guess at what that book is now?"

Naruto looked down at the title and rubbed his finger across the golden print. It was smooth to the touch. "It's a book." He shut his eyes and his mind cleared. "It's a book of memories."

Kurama clapped and nodded. "Right you are. Each one of these books represents a person that I have been inside or have been important to my host or me. Knowledge is power. And there is power in knowing more than your enemy. But there is also power in simple understanding. So, I choose to do both." He held out his hands and in one hand held an orb of dark light sparkled into existence while the other became radiant ball of white light with a blue and green and golden core rotating like the stars in the sky. "For years, I thought having only knowledge would take me to the reaches of Remnant. I thought I could change fate. That I, the Death Cheater, could save everyone from death. But all I found was pain and sorrow. I realized that by trying to make others cheat death, I sent them to their graves. I killed them. They died, and I lived. I was the only man to cheat death. I looked that black monster in the eyes so many times and smiled at it as I wove my own fate out of its hands. For every encounter, we had, he took someone else from me. When the time came for Fall to die, I looked it down and laid my weapon to rest."

His eyes grew tired and he looked at the book in his hand.

Naruto did as well and opened it up. The pages were blank. He snapped it shut and examined its thickness. "A book of memories, the story of their life, would be thicker," he told him.

"Magic has a way of changing that," he said with a flex of his index finger. He motioned for him to open it and read the contents. He cracked the book open and words appeared like inky scribbles being washed out. "The book size doesn't matter. What matters is what's written. Every moment of his life is in that book from the day I linked with him. Every feeling he ever had. Every adventure we ever went on. Every woman he bedded is in that book."

Naruto put the book on the table and glared at the man. "How did you have their memories in books?" 

"Well that's a stupid question. Stop skirting around these silly questions and ask the real one. Ask the one that lingers in the back of your head and drives you to hate me, because you can't understand anything right now. You look at me and all you see is confusion and hate and despair."

"How about you answer my question, then, if you know what it is?"

"What's the point in an answer if you don't ask it first?" Kurama chuckled and pointed to a shelf. A book snapped to his hands and he cracked it open. "If being powerless is so terrible wrong, then does having power make you right? What's the price of knowledge? The equation for the question that is never asked, yet answered? What is the worth of a man who lays down his hands and pleads for death compared to a man that stands in defiance to his enemy?"

"There is no equation to it. Now, if you know my question, please answer it."

"Ask it."

"You know it already."

"I knew it the moment I came into your mind. I knew your questions. All of them. Any and all kinds of questions you'd ask me. I knew all of them from the beginning because they are always the same. All of you are the same. But all of you ask it eventually. It's the one question that everyone asks." He reached out and grabbed another book. "I've been in a lot of people. Faunus, human, male, female… You're all the same. You ask the same question and you expect an answer, but it's never the one you like. It's always followed by another and another. The cycle is always the same. I tire of it. I wish for something more with it. But you never break it. So, ask your question, and I will answer."

Naruto looked to the books on his left. One of them didn't have a name yet.

"That story has yet to be written. The pen rests in his hands, but he doesn't put it to paper. He's afraid of the first words he'll write. And not because he wants them to be good. Not because he doesn't know how. Not because he doesn't know what to write. But because he's afraid of how he'll be remembered. So many people can write. So many more can write good, honest, stories. But the best writers out there are in our minds. We think of stories as the hero saving the day. Fighting impossible odds and coming out triumphant. But that's not real. That's a story. A made-up story to entertain the simplest readers. The truest stories are ones not met with hardship, but with loss. With death. It's about standing up in the end, making the choice that no one wanted to make. Following the leader blindly to their little deaths. It's about killing the innocent and damning the noble and the good. The best stories are the ones we dare not write. For if we write them, we are terrible people. So, he holds the pen in fear of how he'll be remembered."

"Not all stories end that way."

"You're right. But a good number of them do. The truly brave people out there, they write stories based on truth. The hero that fails and has no one to pick up the slack to save the day. The army that stood righteous in their conquest to banish evil, lost to that same evil. The perception of good and evil is so stupidly written that it has become so skewered by what people like and hate that no one every stops to do the right thing anymore. You think if you write something down and someone hates it, it's a terrible story. When that first arrow flies, no one thinks about who will die. That's a true story. A story of a person who fired first and didn't give a damn about what it meant in the end. Is he the hero? Is he the villain? Or is he a man so broken and beaten that he dares not write a simple line for fear of where it will lead?" Kurama fell silent and walked around his desk to the book. "Do you know who the author is?" Naruto nodded and drew his hand across the front of it. His name appeared in red ink. "Your future is so bloody. I wish I could tell you there is a happy ending, but…"

"…Spoilers…"

Kurama sat the book down and put a hand on his shoulder. "Sadly, I can't answer your question if you don't ask it. It's not a matter of jokes or joy, it's the way I am. I looked at you so hard that I swore I saw something special, that by the time I got here, I realized you are special. Do you know why you won't ask the question? It's not because you don't want to ask it. It's because you already know the answer is that there is no answer. Whatever answer I give you, you will hate it. Just like the rest have. So how about we change the question to a better one? Do you know why you hear their screams when you close your eyes? Why your chest hurts when you looked at Amber in that pod? Do you know why you look at the world in this dark perception of false hope and broken gods? It's because you see the world for what it is: A Hell made by Heaven."

The blond host locked his lips and glanced more around the room. "I was told you have power and that by linking with you, I can attain that power."

"If I allow, yes. But you only gain one ability. It's the same one really. I like to see how people get when they are subjected to it. It's always funny. The questions are never really the same. It used to be that they never questioned it, and instead accepted what it is, but now with all those theories out there from those "Doctors" it's fallen to dumber questions. I swear, you will probably be the funnier one I get with it."

"What is it?"

"I've already given you the clues on it. Do truly need to spell it out for you?"

Naruto growled and turned away. "If your going to keep playing these mind games, I'm leaving."

Kurama nodded and returned to his desk. The door slammed shut and the blond was removed from the world. Kurama sat in silence for a long time before the whispers of pain and tears sounded. "Why do you cry for me? Or do you cry for him, my Goddess?"

Fall returned and put a hand on his shoulder as she leaned her chin on his shoulder. "You wear the armor still in greeting for fear of pain. You try so hard to run, but you can't escape this place. This tomb. This prison you call a home. You could turn the knob, go outside, play in the garden. But you stay here because you live in fear of forgetting something."

"I'm contempt where I am. I have accepting what I am now. And I have forgiven Mother and the Hermit for their trickery." He shut his eyes and removed the mask from his face. He looked to the window as the screams got louder. Naruto lay over the broken body of a man with red hair. "I'm going to be lonely again. For so long I waited for him."

"What's a few more months?" She waved a hand and the image rewound to show the two-standing side-by-side and facing down a monster. "My Cleaver Little Boy, one day you will have another friend. He will stand in here again and he will ask for your help. And you will give it to him. Because you can't cheat death anymore. But you can make others cheat it." She waved her hand again and the image changed to that of Naruto standing in front of Kakashi and a man with horns in his hair. Fire burned around them. "Your prison isn't a prison if you let it be one." 

He leaned deeper into the chair. "I know. But I'm… I'm content here in my chair, with my books, and with you… A memory of the woman I loved." She sat in his lap and wept. "Don't cry for me, Fall. I don't like it when you cry."

"I cry because you won't."

He shut his eyes and she began to sing again.

 _Rest now…. My warrior._

(-)

Qrow sipped on his flask as he eyed his older niece with somber look. It had always been a rare sight to see him sober before she entered Beacon and wasn't teaching at Signal Academy. After she joined and he started going places, she always managed to talk to him when he was sober during an hour in which he'd normally be drunk.

Tonight was different. He wasn't just sober, he was curious, perhaps even worried. His sister, her mother, had made contact with her. How many times, she now wondered, had they actually spoken behind her back? How many times had he known where she was, and say nothing to either of them?

"So," he kept his voice down as two students walked by on a date of sorts in the school cafeteria, "I assume you have questions. How about we get the really big one out of the way right now. Yes. I knew where your mom was the whole time. I've known how to find her when the time was right. I'll go ahead and admit that I don't know where she is now. And that's not because of her portals. It's because I know how she thinks."

The blond kept her mouth shut as he brought the flask to his lips again.

"When Raven left Tai, you can bet I did my research. I learned where she went and who she worked for. I got glimpses of her all-over Remnant, but it wasn't until the incident with New Haven that I figured out what she's been up to. And yes; I did know about Richtor."

She clenched her fist and banged them on the desk. If she could, she'd punch him right now. Dozens of mock battles always ended in her defeat. It'd do her no-good right now. Maybe later she could challenge all of team CRDL for a fight. She wanted another shot at Sky after his lucky attack last time that beat her.

"So, as you can imagine I naturally went to Tai to figure out what was going on. He told about what she had brought over, I told Oz about it, and they both agreed that she might have gone insane on the last mission. They sent me to find her. Naturally I did and when we spoke, it was clear she wasn't crazy and had made her choice in life. Believe me, I begged her to leave the kid, return to you and Tai."

"But she didn't want to, right?" The old Huntsman nodded grimly. "She told me she was doing it to protect me. Said something about me getting to close." Qrow arched a browser and nodded sagely. "All the people I spoke with never knew anything. So how could have been getting close to something?"

The old scythe user ground his teeth in thought before answering. "Perhaps you were speaking to the right people and it was making them fearful. You ask the right questions, you generally end up annoying someone. You pester the right people, you pass them off. Most likely you weren't asking the right questions but you were speaking to the right person. Naruto might not be very forthcoming with any information, so chances are you annoyed him to the point of taking action."

"So, he put a hit out on me?" That made sense. She had ignored him the entire time because he knew something and wasn't telling her anything. Maybe she had taken things a bit too far with her hunt for her mom.

"I wouldn't say he put a hit on you. It's most likely that someone overheard one of your talks with someone and put out that word that you were getting close or becoming a pest. If I was a betting man, and I am, I'd say you did while trying g to speak with Naruto as much as you have."

"So, what should I do?"

"Keep your mouth shut and your head down. If you stir up any other trouble, you might not be as lucky."

The old Huntsman got up and pulled out his flask in one fluid motion as he started walking away. He had other things he had to take care of tonight.

"One more question." Qrow stopped and crossed his arms to show his interest. "If you knew all this time where she was, did you also know she was stalking me?"

"…Yeah…"

Yang nodded and got up to leave, but paused long enough to see a bug land on her shoulder. It tilted its head at her then flew off.

(-)

Naruto awoke to the unfamiliar presence of a bed not his own. It took him a minute to process that he was at the twins' home and about their talk from last night. Kurama's words and their conversation was the next thing he remembered.

Growling to himself, he threw the blankets off his former and slowly removed himself from the twins' grasp. Once free, he grabbed up his clothes, checked the time, and headed out. He didn't leave immediately. He wrote a note for the two and folded it up until it was a flower. He placed it gently on the pillow where he had been and then left.

The twins awoke an hour later and Melanie was the one to find it first. She unfolded the note, smiling at the odd way he had folded and wondering why he had done it.

 _Dear Twins_

 _I left early to get cleaned up for work and to go speak with Ozpin. I'll see you at the club later tonight._

 _Naruto Uzumaki_

She folded the note watched her sister retire to the bathroom to get around. Throwing her blankets off, she rubbed her stomach where Naruto had pressed down on her too hard during their romp last night.

Sighing, she went to the bathroom to get the day started.

(-)

Ozpin smiled as he watched Naruto filter through the students to the entrance of his school. The moment that he had come to him and agreed to the force merger, he noticed the problem that it had started for him.

When a merger is forced, the two souls would work against each other and great feedback problems. Naruto was already suffering from visions of people from the Guardians' past hosts and the people that they had met. It would only stop after the first meeting. Depending on the hosts' problems in life and mental barriers would depend on how long it took for a connection to form and then the meeting would take place.

Ozpin didn't have to wait long before the blond mercenary showed up with an almost visible scowl. Fuu tailed behind him with a big grin. Obviously, she had done something to annoy him again.

"I need to talk to you," Naruto told the old teacher. Ozpin smiled and motioned for him to begin. "Are all the Guardians assholes?"

The Headmaster hummed in thought for a moment. "I feel as though you should explain and elaborate for us." Fuu laughed as Ozpin asked for more information. Naruto growled and moved closer to the Headmaster only for him to pull back and see the elevator doors part again. "I feel as though you should explain and elaborate for us." Fuu laughed as Ozpin asked the same question for not five seconds ago. He eyed him curiously for only a moment before he blinked and the elevator doors parted again. "Is something the matter, Uzumaki?"

"What's going on?" Naruto turned back to the elevator door and watched it shut. He turned and faced the two as they watched him carefully. "What's going on?"

"Why don't you tell me." Ozpin laced his fingers together. "You have yet to say a single thing to me."

"No. I walked in and said I needed to speak with you. Asked you if all the Guardians are assholes and you told me to elaborate twice before asking me if something was wrong."

Ozpin shared a knowing look with the female Guardian as her eyes began to light up with joy. Naruto felt something pound on the side of his head. Fuu did as well. She swayed like she'd been hit as Naruto touched the side of his head and shut his eyes. Fuu did the same and then staggered back as though something had hit her full in the face. Naruto touched the desk to steady himself and regain his breathing. "What was that?"

"She must have been trying to make contact with her brother," Ozpin stated calmly. Naruto glared at Fuu as the woman shakily touched the side of her face and spoke in a soft whisper that he was unable to hear. She smiled and nodded before standing to her full height and wrinkling her nose in his direction. "But aside from that, has there been anything else odd to have happened?"

The blond opened his mouth to speak but his vision shifted to the inside of the elevator and saw Ozpin and Fuu looking at him strangely.

Growling, the blond turned his back to them as he said, "I met my Guardian. He's an asshole. He won't answer my questions. All he talked about was his books. He said the Hermit would have loved them. I'd like to just burn them." If something was going on where time was replaying the same events over and over again, he might as well try to go ahead get out what he needed to get out. He held his chest as a deep pain filled him. He grit his teeth and fought through the pain.

"Are you okay?" Ozpin asked him. Naruto snarled in his direction before feeling something off again with the entire situation. "By any chance, did you see something strange just now? You were talking to yourself, but in a way that is very familiar to me."

Eye twitching, the blond felt like the butt end of a joke that had gone without his knowledge. He could tolerate a good joke or two at his expense, but this wasn't much of a joke to him. Something was odd about the whole thing and it was aggravating him to no end. "Yes," he admitted, finally tired of the strange visions he was having. "We had the same conversation three times and I kept getting stuck back in the elevator."

"But you never left it." Ozpin made a point by motioning to said elevator. Naruto looked around the thing for a moment as if he were unsure if the elevator was the culprit of some form of magical trickery. Glynda had amazing abilities and she didn't like him for less than obvious reasons. "I assure you that you're perfectly fine. It was a joke or a trick made by the power of your Guardian. His power, while versatile and unique to him exclusively, is very taxing on the mind, even for one such as him."

Naruto felt a great sense dread hit him as he looked past Ozpin and to his reflection in the window. He could see the faint outlines of Kurama smiling at him, just barely visible to him. For the short few seconds he was visible, Naruto scowled at him and watched him fade away into nothing.

 _Stop this at once,_ Naruto yelled mentally, thinking of no other way to communicate with the dead being inside him. _I will not stand for your games._ No reply came. Not that he was expecting one. _Do this again, and I will ensure that you never leave for a very long time._ "What sort of power does he have?" He turned his focus back on the Headmaster and fellow Guardian.

"You said you had the conversation with us three times, yes?" The blond tightened his jaw as the illogical theory began to form in his mind. Ozpin saw it in him as well. Naruto was becoming aware – unbelieving – but aware to what it all meant. "I'm sure that in your talk with him, he mentioned things about your life. More specifically, you're future. Does that not tell you something about what he can do? What his power would be?"

"What you're saying is illogical." Ozpin nodded. "I've seen a lot of Semblances in my life. Some of them good, others bad, and some almost impossible to comprehend. But let's say I believe this is true and that his gift is one of foresight. How does his power work?" Ozpin gave a shrug of his shoulders while Fuu looked rather tired and winded suddenly. Naruto's gaze fell upon her quickly as the hyperactive female began to look thoughtful and attentive to something unseen by him. "Your power makes sense. But how could he see the future? The future is infinite. It would be impossible for him to predict every possible outcome."

"For one such as he, he does not look too deeply into these things," Ozpin lectured. Gone was the man of jokes and bender of rules, instead replaced with a man of power and wisdom beyond the simple understandings of man. He raised one hand, his elbow propped on the desk as he flexed his fingers as if beckoning a child to him. "What does that word even mean? In a true sense, it means there is no limit. But nothing is limitless. Every possibility gives way to another possibility, and that is where most would argue the meaning comes from. If you take a step back and simply look at the first step, then there are only so _many_ options he could see. So, for the sake of your question, let's keep as simple as him only being able to see one hundred, rather than the more illegally used word."

That didn't answer his question and Naruto was suddenly less interested in understanding on a made-up power could work over why the Guardian he had was such a mind playing jackass.

"I think I'd rather have Fall as the Guardian in me. She was… she was… warm."

Ozpin laced his fingers together while Fuu glared at him for only a second.

 _He met with Fall, hmm?_ Ozpin shut his eyes and for all of a single moment he was not his self. Neither teen noticed. He smiled and recalled a memory of fruits, vegetables, warmth, and joy. But just as quickly as it came it was gone and he was left with the taste of ash in his mouth. The happiness it brought him turned to bitterness and sorrow.

Naruto took his hand away from his chest and growled out, "How does the link work? How do I get it to start up?"

"You don't start it up," Ozpin told him. Naruto snorted in disbelief as the Headmaster smiled in his direction. "I'm sorry if you assumed that it would be easy. Nothing about being a Guardian is easy. Same for being a Huntsman."

"Nothing in life is easy." Naruto ran a hand through his hair and blinked as he looked at Fuu and her thoughtful expression. "You have something to add to this, Lesbian."

Looking thoughtful for a second, the hyperactive female picked her lips as she glanced in Ozpin's direction for a second before saying, "Let me speak to him privately, Oz. If you'll let me, Straight Man."

His eyes twitched but he said nothing.

"Good. There is a diner near here that I like. Don't worry about paying my meal. But I won't pay for yours, Hound." A smile graced Naruto's lips for reasons he didn't know. Fuu left without another word and led him out of the school for the diner in question.

Her change in attitude towards himself was easily noted. Not to make her a slut or anything vulgar but in their previous meeting gs she had practically thrown herself at him and now acted as though he had cheated on her with another woman. A strange emotion and idea when one considered that she was a lesbian and did have an intimate relationship with the current Summer Maiden.

So why the open hostility now when it should have something she did prior to him mentioning Fall? She should have snapped at him well before that. She had to know he was dating Melanie and Miltia. So why did his mention of Fall trigger her so?

The diner in question was an odd choice, considering that near the start of his time here he had gone here for a job that he turned down and was forced to kill his potential client on the grounds of their stupidity. But there was no way she knew about that and even if she did, without evidence to back up anything she'd say, he'd be free.

They took a seat by the window where a small turtle ashtray rested on the window seal for public use. She put it on the table, pulled out a cigarette and lit it, taking a good long drag from it as she pointed to a drink and a meal for him.

"I didn't take you for a smoker."

"I only do it when she gets angry." Naruto made a funny face and she ground her teeth as he watched her finish the smoke and put it out. "I'd make fun of you for not knowing, but that'd be dumb. So, I'll do something better to piss him off as retribution or my headache won't go away."

"Thanks, but no thanks. I'd rather like to keep your head problems out of-"

"Isengard Flash," She said quickly.

Naruto felt rage boil within him and his mind clouded with images of a small city. For a moment, he could see small huts, a child selling matches in the cold snow covered Road in the center of town, and a man with a larger than normal claymore on his back. There was a large post with a woman tied to it. She was smiling as people began to circle her and beat her with stones. Someone bought a match from the small girl, lit it, and tossed it on the kindling around the tied-up woman.

" _We don't want your kind here, Witch!" Isengard called out._

The memory left him and Naruto's hands shook in a shocked rage not his own. The memory wasn't his either. It belonged to Sky, no last name, the tenth host of Kurama. He was a legendary warrior unlike most and had only ever loved one woman in his entire twenty-five years of living: Sonya Wind Runner, a Duchess of Mantel, and the…

Naruto held the side of his head. He willed the memories to stop before another one hit him harder than anything.

"Krystal D'Abolt," he said with a strange look. Fuu sucked in air so hard and fast that despite her intake of air she looked like she was turning blue in the face. Naruto looked away, perplexed by the name. He knew this woman, yet he himself had never lain eyes on her. He was certain of this, but he could see her long blue hair, smell the ocean that caked her skin from years of fishing, and bear her radiant voice that moved Heaven and Earth for her listeners.

The mercenary looked away, his eyes tightly shut as he recalled something greater than the names of dead warriors: A memory of his own. He sat on a park bench with a girl feeding ducks that braved the cold winters of Atlas. She was scared about enlisting. She wasn't the soldier type like her family. She did have good eyes.

" _Aren't you scared to fight what you don't know?"_

" _No. Why? Are you?"_

" _Yes."_

" _Why? You see clearer than anyone I know. Your aim is legendary. Your family can snipe a fly from a thousand meters with a pellet gun and iron sights. What have you to fear that you can't put down at that distance?"_

" _I'm afraid of failure."_

 _Naruto laughed. "There is no such thing as failure. You only succeed in finding what doesn't work. That's what that word means."_

Naruto opened his eyes and looked intently at the woman in front of him as she finally cooled down and gave him a sympathetic stare. "The link has already started, hasn't it? That's why I have memories to these names, yes?"

Fuu nodded softly. "The link has started but it will not be complete until you are truly willing to make the final step. You will not hold Kurama's power until the final step is taken. Only then will you have his gift." She traced the rim of her glass as she looked trapped in a frightening memory. Her face was awash with sadness, pain, anger, and confusion. "Back during the beginning of their stories, there were those that looked upon them and saw only the best that they had. Over time that view became splintered and what was seen was no longer the best, but the worst that they had to offer."

"So, the saints that they were became corrupted by what? Perception of their actions?"

Fuu nodded. "They didn't much help in doing it either. In truth, there was one who started the whole thing and from there it became a downward spiral of hate and fear." He gestured to himself, silently asking if his Guardian started it. She shook her head. "No. The one who started it was Goku, though in truth, it wasn't his fault. There was nothing he could do to stop what was happening and no one would say he was responsible anyhow." She shut her eyes and disappeared from the world for only a moment. She retreated to the further reaches of her mind and snatched up a memory of her past. Just as quickly as she left him, she returned with a single tear sliding down her cheek. "Our powers are unique, but they are only allowed to go so far. Each time that they have given us a piece of their power, we have strived to take it as far as we can because we believe we can go further with it. But the truth is that it cannot go any further than what it is now."

She stopped tracing the rim of her glass in favor of picking it up and looking through the liquid inside.

"When you look through this cup and you see through the water, some would say that they can see sharper, further, and perhaps even around the corner of their very perception. But most people would argue that what you see is finite and you will only see what you want to believe. That's the power they give you. You've already figured out what Kurama can do, even if you are one to not believe it." Naruto furrowed his brow at the very notion of what Kurama's power was. "But Goku started a terrible trend in their honor, and not by choice, but rather by the hand of fate itself. Kurama, for all his power, could do nothing to stop what was happening."

Fuu sat the glass down as a waiter appeared with some chips and salsa for them. Naruto eyed the waiter and then to the people around them. None of them had paid him any mind yet. This was a restaurant that was notorious for illegal treatment of Faunus, though one wouldn't know that without the proper digging on the place. But they were being nice to him, or rather, were ignoring him in favor of Fuu, it would seem. Why was that?

"Noticed it already, have you?" Fuu motioned to the waiter, offering a smile and rubbing her thumb and index finger together as though she was playing with a coin or stone. The man smiled nervously and her smile grew wider. He rose to his full height and snapped his fingers. The entire crowd disappeared slowly like a morning fog passing to the rising sun. Before long they place was empty and their waiter revealed to be a man in his late forties with an eye patch covering his left eye. The fabric glowed a faint blue from a light behind the fabric. "Illusions are not his game, but he is a man touched with the powers of a Guardian he gave up." Her eyes lowered as he returned to his work and made the place a bustling chamber of life again.

"He gave up the power?" Naruto questioned. As far as he was aware, no one should give up their power, even if said power was a made-up thing. Future sight or not, some powers couldn't exist within legal bounds of reason. That only went so far before it passed out of the realm of science and became mythical stories of power.

"Time has a way of teaching us more than one might think we could ever understand." She waved off his next comment before he could say anything and continued with the downfall of the Guardians. "Goku's tenth – or was it the ninth? – host began a bloody ritual out that he could not stop. No one could stop it. It was a hard truth for them all to swallow when they began to hear the stories and come face to face with their actions. You see, Goku's host was forced to kill his next of kin. Normally, this wouldn't be seen as a problem, but it wasn't that he had to kill his kin, but rather he was put in a position where it wasn't up to the host. Ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, and fourteen, were all forced to kill their next of kin. It was when the twelfth one died that the world began to look more closely into their history. I know you haven't looked into it yet, but I'll ask anyways. Have you read the story of the Iron Legion, the Immortal Twins, or the Swordbearer?"

Naruto shut his eyes as he made ready to answer, a wave of memories not his own hitting him hard for the few split seconds his eyes were shut. He saw a man with a great sword at his side and a burning town before him. He cried silently for the loss of his loved ones and the man he had loved so dearly that was cut down before him. He saw a woman paying respect to a tombstone with fire water and furs, making prayers to her Gods that he continues his hunt in the afterlife. The visions passed and he said, "I have not."

Fuu nodded slowly as she leaned against the chair. Her eyes shut. "When the link became established for Tureck, Goku's thirteen host, the others became aware of the growing problem. Two armies were marching on each other, ready to slay the others and take back a weapon of great power. Long has it been destroyed, but during this time, it's power was at its fullest and a single swing from this weapon could rend a life without even letting the metal taste flesh. The story on the sword is real and its creation is just as legendary as its power. But the sword isn't important. What is important is the story itself of its wielder, Tureck, who became known as at the Sword God for his mastery over the weapon. Goku favored blades of legendary status and wielded four blades at once with his awesome power. He bestowed his blade mastery as a gift to his hosts and as a result, they could pick up any blade and wield it with such proficiency that they would achieve the rank of master without ever having touched one prior to this."

"That seems like a waste of a skill to give, considering that they all have a near limitless form of abilities at their beck and call, correct?"

"Our bodies are not like theirs. We are merely vessels for their power and knowledge, but unlike them, our bodies cannot withstand the full totality of their power, and thus they are limited to one gift for us to use. It is at their discretion on the gift we receive. For me, I was given a choice. I chose mine in the heat of the moment because I was careless and didn't head her warnings of what the power I had been granted would do, along with its effects on the world. I was young and trying to save my family." She put her head in her hands and shut her eyes. "Back then, when the links were established, the people would go on a journey and return a changed person. The most under told story is one about a farmer who had been stricken with polio in his life and lost a lot of his mobility and strength in his left side. His host granted him health and made him whole again. But the price was steep. His family were killed during the war and his sister was turned against him by the promise of power. She took it and became the Moon Goddess for the army. She wove untold amounts of death before her brother came before her, the changed man who had only begun to reform himself. Goku did not ask for him to slay his sister. He only pleaded that he stop her. He killed her because he saw no other way to reason with his sister."

The Faunus wrinkled his nose. He could see it without being granted the memory. It made sense for the times back then. People associated so much with religious fever that the sun would not rise without proper worship or the rooster to caw or the flaming chariot to pull it from the shadows of darkness. Those were more than trying times, they were dark ages before science and understanding put those myths and legends to rest.

"And so began the decline in their status as Guardians. They carried out their job of protecting the Maidens, but some began to fear what it would mean for them in the end. Some never found happiness. Some simply wanted nothing to do with the power and rejected any and all links. As time passed they realized that they were no longer noble people. Their power was great and their job just, but they wanted to make legends out of the people those chose. Kurama had told them stories of their valor and their strength. He made them believe that what they did was right. No matter the cost. No matter the atrocity they would be forced to endure, they were noble warriors that were just in their fights against the darkness of the world. The world began to see them in a darker light. They saw them as ghosts and other terrible monsters, some worst them then the Grimm, because they would snatch up their husbands, their wives, their children, and take away what made them to them to make them something else."

"That is human nature," Naruto told her. Fuu tilted her head, a wry smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "We all change, when you stop and think about it. It's okay to keep moving forward, but only as long as you remember all the different people you used to be while you make that journey. I will not forget that I was the boy who loved his father and became the teenager that hated his father. I will not forget that I am the man who loved Yugito and am now someone would kill her without a second thought. Linking to some dead ghost doesn't make any one different. If I change, it is only to counter the problem I am faced with. Nothing more."

Fuu nodded. "Yes. That's what being human is. But people from back then couldn't see that. They saw them once as noble warriors fighting their fights and being the hero that lead them to victory. But as time passed, they realized that they were losing more than just their soldiers to death and slavery for a power they didn't understand, they were becoming the same monsters that they had sworn to defeat. Even now, if you look back on our own history, you will see the that the soldiers who fought each other during the last great war, they became monsters in the eyes of others. When Vale had their fight against Vacuo, no one dared to question who was in the right at the end of it. They only looked at the other side and declared them the monsters for their actions. It all boiled down to how someone chose to look at the other person and figure out if they could stomach what that person had done over what they had done."

There was a long silence that fell between them. Naruto knew now she wasn't explaining everything to him out of some kindness or a need to keep him in their group. It was that she was waiting for him to ask a certain question. "How does the link work?" Her eyes glistened with tears that she quickly wiped away. A memory of pain hit him like no other. Naruto felt like death had crept behind him and made ready to end him, but the guiding hand of something more staved it off. His scroll vibrated in his pocket and he ignored it. "What is the final step?"

"You've already experienced the final step, had things not gone so terrible for you at start. Your life would be so different if it had all played out the other way." She licked her lips and looked back to the water. Naruto knocked it away and glared at her. She held her ground and sucked in deeply through clenched teeth. "You will experience something so impossible that the power he gives you will make the situation possible. For me it was watching my family die in a fire. Our home burned and I made it out alive and fine. But my family didn't. I begged and pleaded and wished for the power to save them. And when I got it, it still wasn't enough. It was just enough for me to survive. I made the wrong choice with my power, but I still tried to save them. The smoke and debris got them. I could have taken a power that would have shielded them from harm or a power that would have truly stopped time in its tracks. I could have taken a power that would have granted the absolute control over fire itself. But I chose the power of taking away momentum and kinetic energy to make it seem as though time had stopped because I thought I could stop debris from falling and the fire from moving." She looked away and for a moment it made sense to him. Her choice was made during a crisis. She wanted the power to save her family and made the wrong choice. Her choice haunted her, but her pleas had been answered and power was given.

"When you say, I've experienced it already," he began, his voice horsed with a tinge of pain. "You're saying that it is in a moment by which there is no possible victory for myself or those around me, yes?" She nodded and he clenched his teeth. His nails cut into his palm and fresh blood spilled on the table. "So," he began with venom in his voice, "if I had made the choice to begin link back then, Sakura might… might…" he stopped talking and looked at his bleeding hand.

" _If… it is my time to die… then who am I to deny it?"_ Sakura's final words had always haunted him.

"She might be alive today, even if your link was created. But that is what the final step is. Your life, or those around you, will be put into such a terrible situation for which no victory is seen. And yet you will be given the power to pull victory for yourself, and maybe the others around you. You must not falter during this crisis in your life. You can do it. I believe in you." She smiled. "Kurama really does pick the most interesting of hosts. His very first host and his tenth host were men of great power and wisdom. Together they made victory out of nothing and became known as the Miracle Makers. Just like them, that's what you are. You are the Man Who Works Miracles. So, make a miracle then and after you have your link, come find me." She got up and left.

Naruto looked at his cup of water and shut his eyes. He gently flicked the cup and saw no liquid move. _Go figure._ He got up and left, determined to figure out if he should return and burn the place to the ground in spite of the man being a former Guardian or not.

(-)

"Can I get a Fiery Empress?"

Melanie smiled warmly as she saddled up to the man who ordered the drink. The lone bartender was equally confused by the order as was to the state of dress this odd man had chosen to wear to their establishment. He wore dark chocolate covered slacks with a red shirt underneath a matching a dark chocolate vest and blazer. A red tie that started red at the top and ended as a dark brown lay draped out of the blazer and marked with an emblem of horned human with fangs at the heart of the color swap on the tie. His dark hair was slicked back and was hard to identify as either brown or black in the lighting for how he stood.

"Coming right up," the bartender said with only a small breath of hesitation.

"Can you handle it?" Melanie asked him. The man turned her way, a fanged smile tugging at the corner of his lips. She didn't recoil in disgust to his odd teeth. His teeth reminded her of a shark.

"If he makes it better than Juan back home, maybe." He shut his eyes as a cold chill passed over the two of them.

Melanie didn't look in the direction of the coldness. She knew who was here because she had laid eyes upon this female specimen of beauty just as quickly as everyone had noticed this oddly dressed man. She wore a silk kimono of whites and blues that sparkled with false glitter. Her near perfect white skin blended seamlessly with the clothing. Her hair was left free of bindings and allowed hang freely, stopping short of the small of her back. She carried no purse, only a small ornate band on her wrist where she kept a wade of lien between her wrist and the binding that sparkled with false diamonds and dust shards. Her smile was the only real thing about her. She walked with the grace and power of a woman of great standing.

"Can I get a Live and Let Die, dear sir?" Her voice radiated warmth, despite her cold aura.

The bartender licked his lips. Her smile grew. "Coming right up," he stammered with a smatter of pink on his cheeks.

The male scoffed and crinkled his nose when he felt a presence behind them. Melanie felt the presence of another stalk beside her, saddling the stole to her far left. A man with a dark complexion sat down wearing a military uniform she was unfamiliar with. It was ocean blue, white, and a rimmed with a faint black outline for trim. His hair was left uncontrolled at the top and braided into a long ponytail that reached down to his shoulder blades. His left hand was covered by a white glove with a cross emblem stitched onto the back of it in red. Cobalt colored eyes glanced at the stock behind the bartender.

"Do you have a Shattered Moon," he asked, his voice sounding like that of a man who gargled with glass each morning. Behind the mess of hair, it was hard to notice that his left ear was ripped off while his right ear looked pointed. Upon closer inspection of the man Melanie noticed a strange scar that looked like his flesh had been burst outward and left as a spider web scar just under his left eye that moved down his jaw to his neck.

The bartender nodded and produced a beer bottle with an image of the shattered moon on the label. He threw it back and drank deep in the sour tasting liquid. The other two picked up their drinks as Melanie got to her feet. She grabbed two wine glasses between her fingers and a small bottle of something red that neither three could read. "The moon will not bow to anyone," she recited.

The dark-haired man holding the Fiery Empress licked his lips as he brought it to his mouth for a sip. He paused and looked her over. "We over dressed for this, didn't we?" he asked, his eyes now dancing around the club. Female teenagers and young adults danced on the floor in short shorts and skin tight dresses that no mother would allow their child to wear in a public place. Males wore an open blazer or leather jacket, blue jeans, and a simple, yet nice, button up shirt. Some were clean shaven or simply too young to have grown facial hair while others had a goatee or the five o'clock shadow going.

The long-haired twin sighed as she looked the three of them over. Whatever uneasiness she had formerly had was no gone. Her sweetness left with her, too. She eyed the three with distain and forced interest as she motioned for them to follow. "This way, Butcher." The man smiled while the woman released a small chill that bit into the back of Melanie's neck. She didn't even both to turn and face the woman. She walked through the crowd and towards the back of the building. She knocked four times and the door opened up. Miltia blinked at the sight of the three strangers and her sister before she allowed them entrance. Once the door was shut, Melanie removed the stopper on the wine bottle and poured herself a glass and held the cup like a life-line from an IV tap. She took a long pull on it and felt the burning liquid begin to take effect on her system.

"Naruto will be here shortly," Miltia told them. She gestured to the tables where a woman in a dark blue spaghetti strap dress sat drinking something crystal clear out of a small glass. She had a bottle with no label on it resting just to her left. She was fiddling with a paper flower that was in the left side of her short blue hair. "I assume you know who we are, yes?"

The woman sighed. "I assume you know who _we_ are, yes?" She sat down in front of the blue haired woman and finished her drink. "Do I honestly strike you as someone who needs a small drink? Bring me something stronger, please! And make it fast!" She exhaled in frustration and looked at the Butcher. "I wanna go back to the mountains. It was nice and cold and quiet. I hate all this noise."

The "Butcher" sat down beside her and nodded. "I hate it too, but we go where we are told to go." He sipped on his drink and shook his head. "Juan still makes it better," he said with an air of disappointment. "One can hardly blame your guy for not making it like him. The guy make experimental drinks, so that's why his always taste better." He took another sip and eyed the woman across from him. "How'd he get a member of the White Fang to come and help us with this?" He turned and looked at the other man who had followed them him. He held his beer tightly and stood ramrod straight. "Bloody hell, Rook, we're not in _her_ presence or your masters' presence. Stand down. That's an order."

The military dressed man regarded him coldly for a moment before his shoulder slumped and his posture slouched. His face twisted into a deep scowl as he threw back his beer and finished it one long pull. He didn't breathe immediately. He sat his beer down and then snorted. "All the alcohol in the world, and yet somehow you don't have anything that can knock me out like Covan has. This place is bigger than his fucking hole in the wall bar! How does that make sense?"

"All his drinks are illegal," Junior said as he stepped in holding a few extra bottles for mix drinks and beer. Rook snatched up two of three beers and double fisted them. His scowl deepened as he finished them and made his way to chair. He sat and grumbled to himself the entire time as Junior made more mix drinks for the two drinkers. "I'd ask how he knows you, but I think I know the story," Hei confessed. He pushed another Fiery Empress to the Butcher. "The famed Butcher of Scion, Mist Demon, Zabuza Momochi, sits in my club today with his apprentice, the Ice Witch, Haku. I'd say I'm impressed to have you both here and not here for my life, but I imagine that it's only by the word of your master that you don't take our lives today, am I, right?"

Zabuza grinned as he looked down into the odd colored concoction of a drink he so loved back home. "We have no standing orders to kill you, if that's what you're worried about. You are an ant when compared to the others you have in your club right now. They are flies to be sure, but they are more of a target than you will ever be. By the grace of our master, you live another day." Zabuza sipped on his drink and looked pleased with it. "I might have to take this back to Juan to see if he can best it. You make a better one than he does. Your bartender needs more work."

"He's new and young. He'll learn or get fired." Zabuza shrugged his shoulders. This was a chance to get hammered and not get a bill for it. So, the grade of his drink didn't matter much today. When he gets back home, then the grade of his drink would matter. "I know that Naruto worked with you on a few missions. From what I can gather, he learned how to torture people from you. You crafted his Semblance to a new form for him to work it. You taught him how to kill without making a sound. You are the Soundless Killer, after all." His gaze swept to Haku. She held her drink tightly, her breath freezing the very liquid inside the cup. "You taught him how to fight to win." She grinned. "Am I wrong?"

"Dead wrong, mate." Rook spoke up. "You got it backwards. Zabuza taught him how to fight to win. She taught him how to use his Semblance in a new way. When the Master found him, he used his Semblance se crudely that she locked him in a cell and told him to escape with it. He did what anyone would do with a Semblance like that: He tried to cut the door down. Took him two hours to figure out how to blow it down with compressed air for a makeshift bomb. Poor McCloud nearly lost his head because he was watching him at the time. Blew the door clean off and nearly took him out in the process. He was right pissed at that little shit."

"And as I recall, you laughed in the face of his anger." Naruto stepped through the door with a pleased look on his face. "The Old Hag has told me to put you in harm's way, Rook. You might yet have a use here. Though, I do remember saying I only wanted you two here, Master Zabuza, Master Haku." The two shrugged while Rook snorted. "No one else on your squad has yet to be replaced, so even though it's been five years since you joined, you are still the rookie. But you're getting a different code name and that code name is War Machine, got it? You won't be addressed by another name here. Zabuza, Mist. Haku, Tundra. Konan, Origami. Remember your names." He looked the four of them over and shut his eyes. "He's contending with the White Fang, isn't he, Origami?"

Konan rolled her eyes. "You knew they were making a play today, didn't you?" she accused.

"Yes," Junior and Naruto said in unison. "They keep making it easy for me to figure out what they're doing next," the club owner confessed. "But why do you care? You're a human."

Naruto chuckled. "The White Fang wanted powerful members, and at the time, they gladly took in humans who supported their cause. But their cause shifted and their group broke into splinter cells." Konan's flower bloomed to show a white canine head in a white circle against the blue flower. "She's a member of the old White Fang, not the new one that call themselves that." Naruto cracked his back and sat down. Junior poured himself some scotch. "I just hope he knows what he's doing."

(-)

Things couldn't get worse tonight.

Blake wanted to believe that things couldn't get worse. But she knew that they could. It was all her fault that they were about to die. How did it all go so wrong? She took every precaution, warned her team about every little detail she could think on. Ruby had wanted so badly for this to work. They stood up against Roman Torchwich, beat back several White Fang grunts at the dock, and even helped take on the White Fang's literal Fang of Atlas, Kakashi Hatake, and yet now they were being pushed back by three nobodies that had never amounted to anything during her days in the White Fang.

True, time would always march on and people might change. But these three were nothing short of incompetent morons that made even the simplest of tasks almost impossible. She remembered so many nights Adam had hated them and wished death upon them, but the former higher ups of the White Fang during those days stayed his hand. They saw value in them. To what value they saw, neither of them saw it. But now that she was fighting them, she could see their value. They played the idiot role very well.

This whole thing started when she found plans of a dust shipment coming to Vale by train from Weiss. As pure their arrangement for their attempts to save the Kingdom of Vale and Remnant by default, Weiss continued to monitor all heavy dust shipments that were coming into Vale from the SDC. Naturally, she was able to keep up with the information in near real time. She found multiple dust shipments, all heading for Vale later this week, but this one had stood out the most when compared to the other options that were readily available for theft. Roman wasn't going to make the same mistake twice, which ruled out a potential dock heist. This left two loads coming in by aircraft, which she knew would be monitored by the Atlas Military, and one more drop by train.

With the military option shot, that left the train option. It was scheduled to come in tonight and while Blake was more than willing to work with Sun again, this time she had opted to work with her team. Ruby had naturally been the first to find out what she was up to when she childishly stole her scroll from her to play a prank and uncovered the most likely spot for the heist on said device. So, with Ruby involved, that mean Yang was involved. Yang backed up the claim from Ruby that they were a team and that they had to work together. And with the subject team back on the block, Weiss was involved, once more reminding Blake that they were a team and that this was as much her problem as it was Blake's problem.

Ruby came up with the plan, Weiss approved, and Blake and Yang went along with it. Blake supplied all the information she could think of for this entire operation as a means of warning them about the White Fang. Her information was old. What information they gleamed from their last scuffle with them was nothing new to Blake. It was all the same. New recruits with little to no combat experience and weapons that they hardly knew how to use. These were city Faunus, not the Faunus that braved the wilds, fought for their lives, and scrounged the city streets just looking for a small meal to tide them over the night. They never lived like Blake, despite her upbringing of luxury back home.

But just because most of them didn't know how to fight, didn't mean all of them didn't. Adam wasn't a fool. He was smart. He trained these people or got others to do it for him. Blake could remember the day she picked up her weapon and learned how to fight with it. She learned how to fight and win because of Adam. Though his methods were cruel and unusual at the time, she understood that had things been different, she would be more than a soldier, she'd be a killer. She vowed to never take a life, but how far would that take her? Adam wanted her to do it. She never did? Was he still training only those with the truest levels of conviction to do the impossible and take a life?

Getting to her feet, she gasped for air as her eyes were drawn to the prone form of Yang. She wasn't moving, but she was breathing. It'd be hard to explain that to Ozpin. It'd easier to explain how they ended up here. It was a Thursday and they didn't have class tomorrow. The teachers were taking an off day because they all had missions they were exclusively being called for. With so many teachers gone, they needed time off. Blake blinked and saw Ruby being lifted up by Weiss as they two held their weapons in one hand, blood spilling from small cuts along their face.

The three White Fang members sighed as they pointed their blades at them, ready to end their lives. The ten or so grunts that had followed them into battle got their rifles ready. Some shook in their hand as they realized just what they were about to do and the horror that was to follow them. Some didn't even take true aim. They simply pointed and hoped the other would do the dirty job that came with working for the White Fang now.

"I'm curious," one of them spoke up. Blake tried to find the speaker. They all dressed the same now and wore masks that fully covered their face. Despite being big and meaty, they all defied logic and moved as fast as Ruby it seemed. "How'd you find out we were taking this place? Boss ain't going to be happy we fought you four girls again, but hey, we tell him we iced you, we might get more recognition in the end. How about you tell us what's up, Kitty?"

Blake spat in his direction, she assumed anyways. "Why are you aiding this scum?" Blake asked, referring to Roman. Even if that man wasn't here, she knew that they were aware of whom she spoke.

The middle one shrugged his massive soldiers. "Orders are orders, Kitty. How about you tell us how you figured this out, and maybe we tell you how we live with ourselves at night working for that slave driver."

Yang began to stir. One of them moved towards as she got to her feet. His big foot slammed against her chest and threw her down. Semblance or not, Yang was hurting bad. She'd taken too many hits and with aura nearly depleted, she couldn't muster the strength to fight. She was dead in the water. Literally at this point.

"It's because you're stupidly predictable and following an even more stupidly predictable man." The grunts turned sharply. A man with dark sunglass, red hair, and wearing a black cloak stood silhouetted against the moonlight. Blake blinked. She recognized that voice. It was old, but she recognized it as plain as day. The stranger looked to the grunts as they pointed their weapons at him. He waved his hand as they sailed backwards with a frightened yell and screaming bullets. He sighed loudly as he looked to the other three. "I'd say I'm surprised you three brothers are still alive, but even an idiot can survive in this world. I suppose I should pay my respects to the Three Immortal Brothers, but you three are not them. You are simply the lucky idiots who get by with unnatural luck." He dropped from the caboose of the train and looked to the four girls. "How about you sit this out? I'll take it from here."

"Who the hell are you?" one of them asked.

"Hendrickson, right?" the stranger asked, pointing to the speaker. The masked Faunus stood rigged for a moment. The stranger smiled. "I remember you when you were smaller. Still had unnatural luck. Took me years to figure out why that was. I wonder how well your luck is now that I'm here? I heard a story once about a man who was unnaturally lucky. Eventually his luck changed and worked against him. I wonder if this is going to be the same for you? But then again," he reached up and removed his sunglasses, revealing white eyes with six rings in them, "I wonder which is stronger here? Your Luck or my Force of Will?"

Hendrickson snarled and ran forward to charge the stranger. He waved his hand and the big Faunus dropped to the ground with a sickening crack. Blood began to pool around his head. The other two stepped back and tried to determine the next best option for engagement.

"I have a question for you four girls." He took his eyes off the two remaining brothers. "How far away is the nearest police station in this area?" It was an odd question until Weiss opened her mouth to answer.

"Fifteen minutes away without traffic." She looked him over. His jaw tightened and he shut his eyes. He scratched at his scalp as the two brothers moved closer to their downed brother. "Don't you two dare move!" Weiss pointed her weapon at them. Ruby tried to load and ready her rifle portion with one hand to no avail. She gasped in pain as she felt her arm pop loudly. It was either broken or had been pulled from the socket. Both would hurt a lot in the coming hour if they got out of this without being caught by the cops. "Why do you ask?" she asked fearfully, her gaze still locked on the brothers.

"I called them ten minutes ago, when you started fighting them," he admitted coolly. Blake's hidden ears swiveled to search for sirens. If he worded it right, they'd be here now! "So, that means we have about three minutes to get this done. And judging by your confused looks to me, allow me to introduce myself." He spread his arms wide, parting his cloak, revealing a brown colored kimono and hakama held together by a thick leather belt, complete with tan colored pouches. On the far-left side of his kimono was a small emblem unfamiliar to the two brothers but familiar to Blake: The White Fang symbol of old. "I am Nagato Uzumaki, leader of the White Fang." He raised his left hand to the brother closes to Yang. With a single curl of his index finger, the Faunus lurched forward and flew at the stranger. Fingers extended, Nagato moved to the side and forcible motioned to the metal hull of the caboose. The masked criminal crashed hard against the metal and was rendered unconscious.

Shaking his head, he turned his gaze to the remaining brother. He had armed himself with a rifle and had just finished loading a round in the chamber when his gaze fell upon the masked Faunus. He opened fire on. The bullets fell short and crumbled around his feet. The rifle clacked empty and Nagato started walking towards him, his hands no firmly tucked away in his pocket.

"I got no idea how you three keep evading the cops, living to see another day. I really should have listened to my friend back when he was alive. Good friend. Great advisor. Better warrior than I. I find it hard to believe he's gone. Even now," he jerked his left hand out and made a gripping motion with it. The masked criminal floated into the air and struggled against an invisible force, "I find it so hard to believe that he is gone and you are here. I wonder what he'd do right now. A part of me thinks he'd end you three, but another part of me thinks his kindness would overshadow that silence you and your ilk. I think he'd be merciful and give you another chance." He dropped the masked criminal on his head hard enough to knock him out. But a sickening crack filled the quiet air and the masked shattered just enough to show blue eyes rolling into the back of his head. "So, I'll meet him half way and break your necks. You won't die, but you won't be a threat to anyone. You don't have the mind of someone that can think up something useful for them the White Fang." He grabbed the other two with a wave of his hand and brought them together. The other grunts had long since scattered. They would most likely be too terrified to return to the White Fang of Adam and Kakashi's group.

Nagato reached into one of his many pouches and produced some wire to tie them up. As he did this, Blake helped Yang get to her feet and slowly make her way to him.

Once he finished tying up the three brothers, he dusted his hands, checked his watch, and whistled. "Damn it! I'm late. He's going to be unhappy I'm late." His scroll went off and he sighed. It was a nice jingle and song, whatever it was. He slowly and carefully pulled out the device, sighing as he read the caller ID. Answering it, he slowly brought it to his ear and then quickly yanked away as a loud voice garbled by static and music screamed something almost impossible to make out. "I'm sorry!" he yelled back. He paused and looked at the four girls. They eyed him oddly as he put one finger in the other ear as it to focus on the call and block out any foreign noise. "Don't take away my Thursday nights! That's not fair. I told you they were up to something and-No I didn't do this to keep you safe! I know you can fight! I just…" He looked at his watch suddenly. "That's not enough time! You're seriously going to ruin this Thursday night of all nights because I left you out of this? You know, if you don't pet me, it's hard to keep me under the porch!"

He yanked the device from his ear and stared at it for a good thirty seconds before crying.

"Well there goes our fun Thursday night romp!" he wailed. Composing himself, he sighed and pocketed the device. He glanced back at the four girls that stared in wonder at him. "Well it's been fun, but I gotta run. I'd ask if you could stay here and make sure these three are arrested, but you are trespassing as well. So, I'd wager you need to run." Blake's ears swiveled and she caught it finally. The faint sounds of sirens steadily moving towards them. "You got thirty seconds to get out of here. I'd say follow me, but we're not heading the same way." He looked beyond them and then said, "Take the number eight tracks south and when you get to platform elven, hang a right and go down the alleyway. That'll get you out of here undetected if your fast." He turned and started running. Blake reached out to him but pulled back in favor of running. They couldn't get caught again. Ozpin would know they were up to something.

(-)

Richtor sniffed the air as Cream continued to write on her notepad at great lengths. It was the last day he was going to be able to see her before their operation to take down the next Ancient Grimm, codenamed Fahrenheit, and he was allowed one more night in Vale to spend with his friend under the watchful gaze of his mother, Raven. Raven had taken to his meeting with Cream very seriously and while she wasn't in direct view of either teen, she was fully aware that both of them knew of her location. Richtor had his obvious way of knowing and the mysterious Cream had her own way of knowing where she was at all times.

Of course, Cream was not her real name and while Raven was less than pleased to know whom her son had been spending time with, it brought up the more serious question of why the woman was here at all in the first place. Vale might not have as many corrupted individuals like Atlas or Mistral, but it did have its fair share of underground slaughter houses. If you wanted someone dead and done cheaply, you went there. But no one was wanting to take a shot at anyone right now, not with Atlas now looming over the city like a mother hen watching her chicks for predators.

Crime was even at a record low if you didn't count the White Fangs' constant raids on supply lines and dust shops. Not a single shop was left untouched as of late. Dust shops were being forced to close due to higher prices for dust. Just getting it to them was a real pain in everyone's rear. With dust imports now at a record high, that meant selling them was even higher in these places. And with most of SDC's competitors now out of business, people had fewer places to turn to for other suppliers in their precious energy. Raven hadn't taken the time to look at a recent power bill here in Vale, but she knew that they were now in the triple digits even for power savers that managed their money well enough.

But none of this was a concern for Richtor, even though Raven had brought this problem to his attention numerous times. The tall teen had become rather bored with her warnings on the lack of crime in the city and had spent more time worrying about his time with Cream who was beginning to show signs of worry towards him. More than once she had asked for his true home and learned that it wasn't in Vale, much to her relief. For her odd questions, Richtor met her with some of his own, usually pertaining to why she'd ask him such an odd question to begin with. Her answers were half baked truths and evasive at most, but he was never the wiser and simply moved on as though her answers were enough for him.

But today was a day in which he worried for her. Their time together was short and always rushed. She would have to leave one day and he would leave the next. It was an ongoing cycle the likes of which both detested greatly and not one that they could avoid. Today, Richtor was made aware of the coming operation against the next Grimm he'd be challenging and truly wished for more time with the small teen.

 _Where will you be going?_ She wrote.

"Out of Vale for at least a month," he confessed, his curse slowly beginning to take root again. He peered to the top shelf and started rummaging through books. The old lady at the counter watched them a bitter gaze. They came in a lot and bought hardly nothing. It angered her to no end. Book Store or not, they were not a true library and their lack of purchases made her feel unwelcomed at most. "When does the tournament start? I still wish to see you fight."

Cream started to scribble something down before presenting it with a frown. _I'm not nice or beautiful when I fight. You won't like me when I fight. I'm scary._

"How do you figure?" He tilted his head. She smiled warmly to his curious question. The ability to fight was always something everyone had to learn. You had to defend yourself if you lived outside the protective walls, but that didn't mean you had to like it or flaunt it. Cream lived a dangerous life and her style of fighting was rather scary. She feared that if she showed him her cruel side, he might not be her friend any more. It wouldn't be the first time it had happened, and it certainly wouldn't be the last. "I think people that can fight are meant to fight. If you aren't strong, you are weak and therefore liable to die more easily. But if you can fight, you are strong, and live longer."

Terrible or not, it was the truth of the world.

Cream's hands trembled and slowly began to write again. Richtor leaned forward and put her hand in his. She looked ready to cry. Her mouth opened, but not even a tiny squeak left it. The curse of being a mute was that she couldn't talk and convey the things she wanted or felt in a more emotional way that all people could understand. Writing only went so far. You couldn't read sarcasm and you couldn't hear anger when you read something. It hurt her more than the process of her becoming the mute she was today.

 _You should consider leaving soon._ She was unsure if she was advising him for fear of the events to come or because she desired to simply know he'd be out of harm's way.

His eyes softened. "Why?"

Chewing her lip, Cream started to write out her response.

Richtor's scroll thankfully went off and he hastily yanked it out to look the device over. A line of invisible text scrolled out of her sight and she watched as he became confused on what he read. "I'm sorry," he told her while getting to his feet. He reached up to a higher shelf and grabbed a small book from within his pocket. He offered the book with a trembling hand.

Her eyes lingered on the book for only a few short seconds as he smiled at her.

"Consider this a small present." Cream gently took the book from him and opened it up to read the first page. The book was very old. "It's the only real book I have from my home. Someone used to read it to me, but it's been so long that I don't remember their face or anything about them. I think it was a man with sunglasses."

Richtor's scroll went off again and he ignored it this time around. Cream read the entire first page and snapped it shut as her scroll began to beep. She ignored it as well and smiled at him.

"There was a time when I believed in these stories," he confessed. His eyes lingered on the book. "It's a simple fairytale about a girl and her love for a human turned Grimm that I was told as a child. The Fay and the Grimm. You probably won't find it anymore in the world. So it is a sacred treasure to me." Cream held the book close to her chest.

 _Are you sure you want to give this to me?_

"I have no need for fairytales." Their scrolls beeped again. Richtor pulled his from his pocket. _It's time to go,_ he realized sadly. Cream and just finished replying when he looked up from his scroll. "I'm sorry to cut this short, but I'm needed with my friends. They worry about me a lot."

 _As am I._ Cream stopped writing and when she noticed her hand was trembling. For a moment, she managed to stop it and continue writing. _Do you believe we can meet up again some time before the tournament?_

Richtor blinked and nodded almost as though it was an unspoken thing. He knew that he'd be back in time for the matches because he was supposed to be taking on another Ancient Grimm before the tournaments completion. "Yes," he answered. Cream smiled and pocketed the book. "I'll see you when I get back." Cream nodded and left first. She pulled out her scroll and started typing something on it. Richtor lost sight of her. Once she was out of sight, he snorted and walked out to head the other way.

(-)

Naruto shoved the door to his apartment open and found his mother sitting at the table with her scroll laying in her hands. Two packed bags rested at her feet beside the chair. The blond closed the door and locked it behind him. "Are those your new orders?" he asked quietly. Kushina nodded sadly. Naruto moved to the table and sat down in front of her. "I'm sorry…"

The redhead slowly looked to her son and watched him pull out his own scroll to start typing on it. "Were you not happy that I showed up?"

"That's always up for debate with me," he replied. Kushina rolled her eyes. "It's not like I'm not happy to see you. You just happened to show up during a time in which things are going rather hectic with my life." He smiled and put his scroll down. "That was nice of James to give you time off to go back home and be a substitute teacher for a month. Means you won't be going anywhere for a while. You won't see any danger at all."

Kushina reached for her scroll but stopped herself. A smile tugged at the corner of her lips. "Pulling strings again, I see. James won't be happy with you."

"I don't know what you're talking about." He got to his feet and grabbed up two cups. He filled them with water and returned to the table with the drinks. "You shouldn't have shown up here when you did."

"Why?" Naruto snorted and she folded her arms in defiance. "Why do you have to live this life, hmm? Do you want to worry me to death?"

"You're the one I've got to worry about, mom. Did they not tell you who I work for? You almost got yourself killed because my client thinks you're a bother to me. I had to make sure that you didn't learn anything or get too uppity with me and try to take me away. If you had even managed to capture me and put me on a plane or a boat, you would be dead long before you could step off the ramp. I had to protect you… Like I always have had to."

"I never asked you to protect me. I can do that myself." Naruto rolled his eyes and grabbed his cup of water. "You know that what you're saying is wrong. When Minato was alive, we took a marriage class. We learned that we make stories about our past. I never asked you to be the stronger one in my life. That all started after your sister…" She fell quiet. Naruto's eyes fell down. Kushina shut her eyes and gently touched her stomach. "I never asked you to be the bigger person after that. I'm your mother and he was your father, and yet somewhere along the line when you were young you decided to become strong for yourself and made up a story that you were always the protector for me when Minato wasn't around." 

"I did what I did because you made me this way." Naruto shut his eyes tightly and kicked his feet on the table. "You think I wanted to be that way? You made me this way when she died. Dad was always gone! He left you in the hospital when you were with my sister. He didn't even go to her funeral when she died. The job was too important for him to attend his own daughters' funeral. You were a wreck. I had to learn how to cook for you. You were so badly broken that by the time you finally came back from it all, you had forgotten how do anything to help me. You even asked me when I learned how to cook!"

"I never asked you to do that!"

"You're right. But you stopped taking care of me, so I had to take care of myself. I learned how take care of myself because you wouldn't. I had to take care of you. You were going to die if you didn't eat and you wouldn't eat either. So, I had to take care of you until dad got home." Naruto ran a hand through his hair. "You're flight leaves in an hour. I have to get around for a job. I'm heading out in a bit to take a job. So, I can't take you to the airport." Chewing on his lower lip, Naruto walked around the table and hugged his mother. "Take care, mom. I'll come see you. I promise."

Kushina nodded with tears in her eyes. "Right…" She got up, grabbed her bags, and departed.

Left alone in his apartment, Naruto nodded and pulled out his scroll. He called up Raven and said, "It's time to start heading to Atlas," before hanging up and getting the rest of his things together. It was time to take down Fahrenheit.


	16. Demon of Demons

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A/N

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Chapter 16

Junior stopped washing the glass long enough to watch Melanie and Miltia kick out yet another drunkard that had overstayed his welcome at the club. The moment he saw them boot the poor man out, he went back to cleaning the glass until he was sure that it was properly clean and started work on the next one.

 _I can't believe they've been gone for a month,_ he thought.

Things were different a year ago for him. He fought to find good soldiers that would do dirty jobs for random amounts of pay. He worked with Melanie and Miltia, the twins that couldn't be beaten, and his hired guns that worked as disposable muscle and not much else. They were the bottom of the barrel people with no real plans for the future. They were nothing like Melanie or Miltia. And even those two were nothing like Naruto, Kiba, or Tayuya. They all wanted something more in their lives and were willing to kill to get it. Kiba wanted fame, Naruto wanted the future, and Tayuya wanted knowledge on human psychology.

His men wanted nothing but money and material things. The twins did as well, but not nearly as badly as his men did.

But even with that, he had started to take notice of the change in himself recently as well. Without them around, he had returned to worrying about his cliental and keeping them happy. His men couldn't do any of the things those three could do, and before they left they told him they were getting another person out here to join them. With four people that had greater combat experience than his goons, better weapons, better combat training, and had the smarts to find and act according to the parameters set by the client, he feared that he'd have them booked forever when they came back.

Naruto had promised the twins that when he came back, he was going to be free for a while. His attention would return to the club and by default, all of them again. Junior was pleased to hear this, as his last few clients for Naruto had sent him all over and made him increasingly unhappy as time went on. With the arrival of his mother, his ex-girlfriend, James Ironwood, and that crazy chick with the time stopping powers, Naruto had become increasingly agitated.

"You would think these people would still live in fear of Kiba, even without him being here." Melanie's voice jerked Junior from his train of thought and he could only nod silently as if he had been focusing on anything she said prior to her raised voice. The long-haired twin looked at her nails as she glanced over to the door where another one of Junior's men began to shove another man out the door. "At least the repairs are finally done."

Junior nodded silently as he sat down his cup he was cleaning to start cleaning another one.

"I wonder when they're going to come back."

"Who knows," Junior told her. His eyes grew heavy as he looked over the cup and then glanced up at his only female fighter/bouncer for the club. She was chewing on her lower lip and looking longingly at her scroll. Whatever she was looking at was probably a photo of Naruto, a text message from him, or it was the news since a lot of odd stories were coming out of Atlas about a loud roars and soldier movements on the boundary to a military outpost two hundred miles out from Mantle.

Melanie shrugged her delicate shoulders and put away her scroll. With Junior not in a talking mood, she got up and returned to her sister to start helping her with orders and to see what kind of gossip she could snag. Information was information. If it could ruin someone or make someone, it was worth it to them.

(-)

Falcon belly crawled through two-inch-deep snow towards the small outcropping of rock and ice that overlooked the small military base in the shadow of the Fahrenheit's mountain. Even with a combat suit designed for prolonged use in dangerous climates, he could still feel the cold bite of the wind on his flesh. He was trained to ignore it. He pulled up his rifle, removed the lens cap, and peered through it.

"Mist, Tundra. You have a patrol team of three moving to you. They don't seem to be looking for you."

" _Understood. Take them out or let them pass?"_ Mist asked.

" _Let them pass. We don't need bodies."_ Pein replied. He sounded agitated still on his code name. Falcon didn't know his real name, and if he was being honest, he didn't care. But Sight seemed to know him, and he was currently taking heat for how long their entire operation had lasted thus far.

Falcon sighed and watched the patrol team pass by Mist and Tundra's location before moving on to complete their circle on the base. For one month, they had been here and only had one engagement with Fahrenheit and that had ended up being a data gathering mission. Shortly after their first engagement the beast had wised up to their tactics and not fallen for anything they had planned. This proved at least one theory correct concerning the monster: It possessed a higher level of intelligence when compared to even Alpha Grimm. Fahrenheit might not be as big as most of the other Ancient Grimm that were out there, but it was stronger than most and faster than most. History had proven this with numerous failed operations by Atlas forces against the thing to take it out.

The first and only engagement they had against it had ended in failure due to it simply deciding to retreat to the safety of its mountain.

Sight's plan had been somewhat brilliant. He had intended to use the defense forces to lure out the creature by tricking them to head to the mountain with false data. James would be none the wiser to this and when an investigation would be put into effect they would turn up nothing to link them to their deaths. While it was a crude plan, the idea was to get Fahrenheit off his mountain where he had the advantage in combat and terrain. Naruto's plan was based on previous information from historic battles with the creature, as in the past it would leave its mountain to come down and do battle with the outpost.

To Falcon, this was turning into a bust. The entire operation hinged on the idea that they could get him off the mountain and prevent him from going back. But sadly, he wasn't taking the bait after the first engagement. They'd staged others and nothing had happened. Today seemed to be another one of those days. If they didn't get him soon, the Conclave might have words with Naruto on his tactics and James may become aware of what was really going on. The fact that he hadn't even changed his tactics was also alarming Falcon. Many of the members that came had other places to be to maintain their cover. Falcon had his own spot to be in right now, along with Flower. A month away was going to be killer for them.

A large white hand covered by fur sprouted out from behind a large tree just behind the vail of falling snow that blanketed always fell on the mountain. Falcon hastily zoomed in as far as he could and cringed as he lay gaze on a solitary red eye just beyond the falling snow. "Contact with target."

" _Do not move."_ Sight ordered. _"All teams get ready for potential combat."_

Falcon flipped up the safety on his rifle. His eye hardened as he watched the Ancient Grimm linger behind the tree. The single eye regarded the passing troops with an intense gaze. For a few short seconds, it watched them walk away, stopping every so often to do their job and make sure the area was secure. Adjusting his sight momentarily, he felt a watchful gaze fall on him and swore in his mind. The red eye of the monster was locked on him. For a moment, the two stared at him as if it were making sure that he could see him. The red eye then looked around and then disappeared back into the vail of snow.

Shutting his eyes in depression, Falcon moved his sights to the team that was closes to the target. "He's not taking the bait. He can see me."Tundra looked up and tried to find him. "Don't bother trying to find me. I'm in full camouflage. He's got to be smarter than what we think if he can see me or he's just smart enough to not fall for these kinds of traps."

Falcon couldn't see him at the moment, but he knew that right now their leader was probably kicking himself for not getting a chance to end this silly little fight soon enough.

He turned around and began the long climb back down through the snow and ice on his belly. Even in a tactical withdraw he wasn't chancing the military seeing him. None of them wanted to. This was an Atlas Military Base. They were highly trained and heavily armed with weapons of the latest design and model, meaning that even though this base was small, they could easily take them all out with little to no problem. Shame that they were incapable of taking out the Ancient Grimm.

It was a two-hour crawl before he was safely outside their perimeter and back with the others. The blue haired woman that had joined them for the operation was handing out cups of hot coffee and chocolate to warm everyone up. The entire team seemed very unhappy with how things were going and no one was going to blame anyone for this. There was a very good reason for why Fahrenheit was so dangerous. No chances were being taken with this monster.

Sight was off in the corner with his eyes glued to a terminal. He was going over data gathered from their first encounter with the beast and then all other attempts following the event. It wasn't really hard to guess what he was thinking. They needed a new plan and they needed it fast. They only had one more week here at most before the Atlas military wised up and realized that they were being targeted. Didn't help much that Mist and Tundra were always off doing their own thing. Sight had nothing to say about their actions.

"Listen up," Sight commanded as he got to his feet. He flicked the terminal off and grabbed a cup of something hot. "Our next engagement will be on the mountain. We're invading his home now."

"Why?" Origami asked. Pein looked ready to agree with her on that matter.

"We need more data before we take him out. He's smart. Real smart. If he's not falling for our traps to lure him off the mountain, our next option is to take the fight to him."

"We luring the soldiers up there as well?" Pein asked. His stance was already known to all about this operation. Killing the Ancient Grimm and sacrificing soldiers of a foreign nation wasn't exactly something he tolerated well. He was helping them still only because Sight was a friend and promised to help him with something in return for their services.

"No. I'm not endangering any more of those people. As easy as it would be lure them up there, they're getting smarter and it's not going to be easy to do it for much longer. Besides," he moved to the center of the room in three long steps, "Command has been grinding on me to get the operation done quicker. Our best method now is to take the fight to it. So all teams are to be ready to mobilize tomorrow at thirteen hundred hours." The door opened and in walked a man with a scar across his right eye. "This is Cold. He's working with us for the duration of the mission. With that said, you're all free to do what you want until the operation begins. Dismissed."

Falcon watched Sight leave before moving to the terminal. He turned it on and skim read a note left to Sight. Did he purposely leave this active in the hopes that someone would read it? Most likely. Once he was finished skim reading it, he turned to Cold and sighed. Command was demanding a body be produced. Whether it was the Ancient Grimm or one of their own, they didn't care. Things were moving too slow for them and now they were being forced to rush. _Sight, did you bring in Cold just to prove a point or to follow orders?_ Cold was chatting it up with Pein who could only smile at whatever the man said. _Body or not, you do some of the strangest things when provoked._

(-)

"He's related to Naruto."

Ruby blinked twice as Weiss put her scroll on the table and showed her findings to the three. She almost dropped her precious cookie when she saw the image of Nagato again. He was younger in the photo and standing next to a woman with blue hair. It was an article about the White Fang and its leadership. Nagato was apparently high up there on their ranking system.

Blake shut her eyes to ignore the _new_ find produced by Weiss. She was working with three days without sleep and when she did sleep, it was only in short spurts. Not enough to do the job effectively, but enough to keep her awake long enough to do what she needed to do. A great many nights had already ended with her passed out in the library at a computer. And a great many more nights were going to follow in the same manner if she didn't manage to figure out what the White Fang were up to or why they were working with that scum of a man, Roman Torchwich.

Ruby flipped through the pages on the scroll about the man as Weiss continued. "He became the leader of the White Fang after the original leader stepped down. His views on the world never really changed either. He still pushes for equality with Humans, but over the years he's grown silent. He disappeared for about three years before popping back up in Mistral where he stayed for a year. The last known sighting of him was at a funeral shortly after the New Haven disaster. It seems he lost someone there and now he's been on a warpath to find the culprit."

"Then why come to Vale?" Ruby asked.

 _Because Naruto was most likely involved in the incident, or knows who is responsible for it to begin with._ Yang didn't dare say that out loud. She had no desire to test the theory that she was being watched or that they could snatch her out of thin air if she was to step out of line. If Naruto was involved, that meant her mother and her so-called brother were involved.

Weiss shrugged, suddenly on the defensive. "Don't know. But the fact that the both of them are here might mean that they're planning something against Vale."

"I don't know about that," Ruby confessed with a shiver. She was still haunted by nightmares about the incident. Those three brothers were going to kill them and yet the only reason they didn't was because Nagato stepped in. She couldn't peg him as the type to wait till the last second to aid them and he seemed like a standup guy if he was actually going to call the cops to get those three arrested. "I think he came here for a different reason. Have you even seen him in town since then?"

That got Yang's attention again. She actually hadn't seen hide or hair of Naruto and his group. In fact, if she was really thinking back on it, they even said that they weren't going to be in the area for a little bit. Maybe a trip to Junior's was in order. He might not have anything to tell her, but that didn't mean the twins wouldn't give her something. They usually slipped up or provided her with information because they were told to by someone that she presumed was Naruto.

Blake's unease wasn't easily noticeable at first given how they had all been focused on the scroll. She was thankful for that. It gave her the time to clear her mind and think on what this all meant. She'd been trying to wrap her head around the entire thing for weeks to no avail but now that she was told Naruto and Nagato had the last name, it might mean that they were family and here for a reason. She couldn't picture Naruto in the White Fang, if only because of his stance against Roman. He actually went after him with the intent to kill. If he was part of some splinter faction she could see his reason for it, but she didn't pick up that kind of vibe from him.

The cat Faunus bit her thumb as she tried to place the man. She swore that she had met him once before, but for the life of her she couldn't place the time or the place she might have met him.

"What if he's not here to work with the White Fang, but work against them?" Blake reasoned quietly.

Weiss shook her head. "You can't expect someone who says he's from the White Fang to want to work against them, do you? Why would he label himself as a part of that group only to stand against them? That doesn't really make any sense."

"Not entirely." Yang raised a finger as though she were about to lecture someone. "If you stop and think about it, he said he was part of the White Fang, acted like he knew them, but he didn't like what they were doing. That means that he's probably a member of the original group before they spiraled down in to what they are now." 

Blake leaned back against her chair in thought. She could see that in him. Nagato wore the previous emblem they proudly displayed before the new leader came into power. If Nagato was someone that stood on their former grounds than he was someone that might be useful in her fight against them. But the problem was that she needed to get in touch with him and since she didn't know where he went, she was sort of at a loss for ideas. Even if she did find him, there was still the fear that it was all a ploy. What if he was only acting and making it seem like he was on their side? If she went to him and got caught, it'd be the end for her if Adam wasn't feeling too thrilled about her abandoning him.

"Be that as it may, perhaps we should focus more on school and less on this problem. The authorities are handling it currently and with all the heat they generated, there's no way we're going to find anything for a while," Yang reasoned. Ruby was quick to agree, having spent a good portion of her childhood watching cop shows to know or at least believe that to be a thing. Weiss looked relieved and hastily picked up her scroll to start charting out her class assignments that were due soon. "Blake? You okay?"

The black-haired teen blinked a few times, her tired mind thinking of a quick response to assure her partner that she was fine. "I'm good," she said slowly, almost as though she were unsure herself. Yang clicked her tongue and looked ready to ask again when the cat Faunus got to her feet. "I'm going out for some fresh air. I'll be back later tonight." And just like that, she was gone. Neither of the three remaining girls moved to stop her or even attempted to stop her.

(-)

It always snowed a lot in Atlas. It was one of its few natural barriers against the Grimm that they had aside from building their cities on steep mountains or places with unnaturally low temperatures that not even the Grimm would usually dare to chance. Snow storms were frequent and random, but they lasted for only a few hours at a time. It made travel hard unless you had craft that could get above the clouds or were willing to invest in SDC's latest driving tech. Advanced optics that allowed your windshield to show you were you were heading and what was in front of you wasn't cheap, but it saved a lot of lives.

Naruto let the cold chill bite at his flesh as he walked through the snow. The plows hadn't come through the area yet and if he was remembering it right, they probably wouldn't reach this area for another two hours. It gave him plenty of time to come and check in on things.

The city streets were hardly busy during the early noon hours. Breaks had already taken place and only those too slow to get their city chorus done roamed the street. It was a good thing for him. With fewer people roaming the streets, he was less likely to be identified by anyone that knew him, even if he had taken precaution against being recognized.

He wore a baklava and a thick fur coat with the hood pulled up. His hands were stuff in his pockets as he made his way through the snow. The cold wind did nothing to detour him from his intend path.

With the operation about to reach a pivotal point tomorrow, Naruto wanted to take a trip through town and probably visit his mother before the next operation started.

What was that idiot thinking? Naruto had made a perfect plan against the Ancient Grimm and yet now the Council was getting restless with him. His tactics were always changing and now he knew that their options were limited if they were to take the creature down. The only silver lining in this problem was that they were going to be able to have a body to produce for the impatient bastard. If the Council wanted a body, Naruto would be more than happy to produce one for them.

Naruto got out of the city and eventually came across a thin metal fence that went beyond his line of sight. A small gate was the only form of protection against intruders. He gently opened it and started moving through the small walk path provided by the city.

Atlas was a military country. It took everything seriously. If you wanted to become a soldier, they gave the training and the tests to figure out where you needed to be and where you couldn't be. If you wanted to try and be a Huntsman or Huntress, they gave you the training and tests to see where you would stand with that. Citizens understood this and never complained about standing orders that their loved ones would have when they were gone for long periods of time. Sure, they complained behind closed doors, but not in public.

But if there was one thing that they took serious beyond all measures, it was their dead.

Atlas always considered their dead to be the truly bravest of warriors. They marched out into the cold unknown and brought back victory, no matter how small, to them. Death was a blessing and a sweet release from the cold world they lived in. So why not honor the brave?

Naruto stopped in front of a single grave covered by snow. The last time he had lain eyes on it was just a few days after the burial services. It was here that he met the man that put him on his path to being what he is now. He spoke not of power or revenge, but of a single question that drove most mad with purpose. It was the baseline for most arguments, no matter how small or trivial. And as such, it became a baseline for Naruto as well on his quest to destroy all of the Grimm in the world.

Kneeling, he ran a hand across the gravestone and brushed away the white powder. Sakura Haruno was written in bold letters at the very top it, along with a date of birth and death. A small memorial was written underneath it in smaller text. Naruto didn't read it and instead took out a knife and began carving something else directly beneath Sakura's name.

Aside from being on his team when they were still in the academy days of his life, she had spent many nights with him and his friends. Among most of his friends she spent her nights with; Sasuke Uchiha was the main one she focused on. It wasn't anything special at start, but eventually it blossomed into something more and one night of underage drinking led to another thing. Though unknown to all at the time, their one nightstand had gotten her pregnant.

Naturally, Sakura's parents weren't happy when they found out and like so, Naruto wasn't either. Sakura was like his little sister at times because she had been around him her whole life. He couldn't think of a single time in which she wasn't there in his life with him. It was what made them so great and her death so terrible for him. But beyond that, it had also been the first proof of something more in his life that he had wanted and never achieved. Sakura was a many thing to him, but a girlfriend she was not, and he was okay with that.

She had spent weeks trying to figure out how to tell Sasuke. When she finally did get around to finally having the desire and the will power to do it, they were sent out on the training trip that ended her life. She had already told Naruto, as he was her brother figure. And he had known just by how she had gotten sick a few weeks later. Her illness was similar to his mothers' when she had gotten pregnant and he didn't need to guess as to why it was happening. When he asked, she confessed to being pregnant and had ordered him to not tell Sasuke or lash out at him. He did as she requested, but had not been pleased to do so.

Sasuke the entire time had been oblivious to the entire thing and when they were broken up into teams of two, he watched as the Uchiha was forced to go with Neon. Naruto led Sakura right to her death and could do nothing to stop it. Even with only one arm, he had thought himself powerful enough to stop the coming onslaught of Grimm that ran rampant across the training field. She died her little death and Naruto knew then that he had failed to not only save a friend, but keep a promise as well. Sasuke was naturally devastated by her loss, but he didn't linger on her death. He was back to his usual self in months.

He finished carving and got to his feet. Sarada Haruno was now carved underneath Sakura's name.

Sakura had told him that the baby was girl, but Naruto had doubted that. Still, she had chosen a name and Naruto was more than willing to listen to her belief that the child was a girl. After all, it was never born and Sasuke had never been told either. Sakura's parents kept the secret with them, even now. If Sasuke were to learn that he had had an unborn daughter, there was no telling what he'd do or how he'd react to the knowledge that he had failed her.

After all, why would he care now? It'd been years since then and he'd be raising a near three-year-old girl on no real income. Sasuke had many talents as a child, but sadly time had not made him anymore mature than he was back then. He was still a child at heart and desired only to have fun. Having a child early in his life would have done little to change his attitude or childish nature.

"When was the last time you were here?"

Naruto got to his feet slowly and almost frowned at the voice behind him. "Come to pay your respects to the dead as well, Falcon?"

Out of his combat attire, Falcon had always looked rather small when comparing him to others of their age range. Despite the cold air and biting winds, Falcon didn't wear any form of cold protection over his head or ears, allowing what had once been long hair to be shown cut just short of his ears. He wore a normal leather jacket and pants to match, but from there, he dressed as though the cold didn't bother him.

"You know I have no dead to pay respects to," he told him. Naruto blinked once but decided not to press for more on that subject just yet. "Who is she?"

Naruto glanced back at the grave for a moment. "A friend that was there for me when I needed her the most. She's gone now, but sometimes I wonder if she really was ever here to begin with."

"Like an imaginary friend?" Naruto might have laughed if she had been the one to say that instead of him. "Don't worry much on it. The dead watch over us from wherever they sleep. After all, aren't we fighting for the dead in their honor?"

"That's rather dumb. Why fight for those that are gone? If you do that, it's no different than revenge." Naruto looked past Falcon and spied a family slowly moving their way. He didn't need to see their faces to know who they were. "Have you ever heard of a user with a Semblance called Memory Leak?" Naruto lead him away from the family as they slowly began to get closer to them.

Falcon snorted. "Yeah, I've heard of someone with that Semblance. Said it takes away part of your memories. But the user is said to only do it to certain memories and won't do without a good reason. It's supposed to be a female if my memory serves me correctly." Following the blond, his eyes narrowed as if he were trying to recall something on the subject. "Why bring it up? Do you want to find this user and recruit him?"

Stuffing his hands back in his pockets, Naruto ignored him for a long time before they were standing at the very heart of Atlas. What few people were walking through the harsh winds and snow paid them little mind. "We don't need someone like that on our team. It would cause too many problems."

Naruto started walking again, Falcon trailing after him.

In truth, Naruto had once sought the person out. It had been a time when he was at his lowest. He didn't remember much about their meeting, so it prompted him to worry if he had used their services to forget something. It had been a long time running fear of his. He could remember Sakura and her death. So, he might not have used their ability to forget anything. But if he did forget something, what did he forget and why did he want to forget it?

But there were others that couldn't handle it. People that had willingly sought their kind out to forget terrible memories. Some wanted to forget a mistake that they had made. Others sought them out to forget lost loved ones and people that had rejected them that they had loved so much. But for some, it was a test to see if memories were connected. Those people were the ones that suffered the most in the end. It was an age-old question about love and connection. Naruto didn't have much of a care for that theory, but it always came back to him at times when he visited Atlas.

Of the people he had selected, only one person from his unit had gone to this person and used their talents to forget a horrible memory. When Naruto had looked at his background, he could hardly understand why he chose to use them in the first place. But over time he began to understand just why this man might have used their services and the sad truth was that he didn't want to use it. It was forced upon him.

"Falcon, do you remember Augustgrand?" Falcon shook his head. "When did we first meet up?"

For a moment, Falcon was silent until he stopped and forced Naruto to do the same. "During operation Kings Alone." He blinked a few times as if questioning the sanity of his question. "The operation was to kill a man that had the power to turn anything he touched into ash. Said he couldn't be killed. He was supposedly immortal."

Naruto remained quiet for a bit longer as he started walking again. Falcon followed in silence. For a long time they wondered the streets before they both stopped at a small park where a few children were playing a game in the snow. "When I was little, there was a boy I knew. He was a sure-shot. Could hit anything from near any distance. But he was so cold and unforgiving in everything he did. He made it seem like everything was a calculation and an invisible game of war. He had to win. He had to the be the best. If he wasn't the best, he wasn't going to live. So he won at everything he ever set out to do."

"What happened to him?"

"He died… I guess. I haven't seen him in years. Last time I saw him was two weeks before I lost my arm. He was leaving to go back to Mistral, back where his family first originated. I haven't seen him since then. I'm not even sure if he's alive anymore. He probably is. He was lucky like that. Annoying bastard."

Naruto began walking again and this time Falcon remained behind to stare at the children that were playing.

(-)

"Pein," Nagato hissed the name. It was the stupidest name he'd ever heard of and he loved it secretly. It was so cool sounding and even spelled wrong, something that had an added bonus to him. In his youth, he used to enjoy finding odd ways to spell something differently and still have it mean the same thing. It was the best thing in the world to him to see a name, hear it, and then spell it differently. He'd even kept up on the record of the four girls that he saved that night at the train station. If you sounded it out, it didn't sound right, but when you looked at it and thought on it, basically meant RUBY, and it was a hilarious thing to him.

"Would you knock it off," Konan told him. She swatted a small fly away that had taken to buzzing around her head. She hated these sorts of places. Cold places were the worst, and she came from a place that always rained. "Why are we here? Please remind me."

Nagato sighed and stopped thinking and complaining about the code name given to him and more on the task at hand.

Atlas was a big city with an even bigger underground network than what they themselves truly realized. With the main office for the SDC here, turning a profit from their items was rather hard, but if you procured something that wasn't on the market just yet, well you could find some big money real fast. The Mistral Black Market wasn't anything like this, and it sure as hell was a lot better, but this one always had something unique that Mistral didn't have.

Off in the corner of the small Inn was a man covered in rags and sitting against the wall with a look of confusion and bliss on his face. He held a small object in his left hand and occasionally brought it to his mouth to suck on. After a few seconds, he'd exhale some smoke and his eyes would glaze over. Atlas might not like it, but this place didn't actually exist on their records and even if it still did, it was registered as an Inn. The truth was this was place as an Opium Din and one that was rather well hidden despite the fact that it was damn near in plain sight to their soldiers. Why no one took notice of it, Nagato didn't know, and in truth, he didn't care.

What he did care about was the man smoking.

Konan stayed at the table, happily drinking her questionably pure water as her Faunus partner moved over the man. Nagato gave his foot a gentle kick and the man was suddenly very sober. "Still not enough?" Nagato asked him.

The man looked very sad as he nodded. "Nothing works on me," he answered back, his voice clear as day and showing no signs of the drug or any other substances in his system. "Sucks having the perfect immune system for a Semblance."

"One might call that a blessing."

"You like being drunk?"

"I like the feeling, but not the morning after."

"Yeah, we'll I ain't ever been drunk, had the morning after, or any of that shit, ever! It's pure hell."

Nagato could see why he might think that, but in all honestly, giving up that sort of stuff for a perfect work record, no sick days, and being able to go out and party with friends, knocking back as many drinks as you wanted, and _still_ being able to drive home sounded great to him. "I need some help with something."

"You always turn to me, you know that. Can't you go to someone else?" He paused to think on his words as he got to his feet. "Forget it. Your friend pool isn't very deep anymore. You only have a few good men and women left in your branch. Words never speak as loud as fists and guns." A sad truth that Nagato was still coming to terms with. "What do you need me for?"

The Faunus pulled out a photo and tossed it to him. The stranger took a long look at it before slowly turning his gaze to him. "It's not what you think."

"She'd kill you if this was what you were in to, so I know it's not that." He pocketed it before Nagato could swipe it back from him. "My question is why you even care about a little girl at all."

"Some of my contacts have informed me that she and some of her friends have continued to snoop around for information on my family. I don't need what remains of them to be found out just yet."

"Are you referring to your family or your family-family?" Nagato sighed loudly and the man shook his head. "What do you need me to do? Tell you who she is? I can do that easy. I used to know this girl and her mother. Nice girls, both of them. Shame that she quit the group, but hey, the family life calls a lot of people home, I guess."

"I want you to scare her away from us."

"…Seriously…?"

"Yes. I know she was once a member of the White Fang, but she's too young to be caught up in a problem we let fester until now. This is our problem. Let the adults handle the messes that they make. No child should have to clean up a mess their parent makes."

"Hate to break it to you, Nagato, but that's how the world works. Adults start fights that they can't finish and the children are forced to pick up where they left off. How many of you are left in your group that are adults?" Silence was the answer and the mysterious man grunted in acceptance to his silence. "I thought so. You're all the same, you scream kids. You know that. Look at me. I'm unforgivable for the things I've done, and yet you want to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders because you think that any screw up you make has to be fixed by you and not the next generation. I say leave it for them to fix. We did a right mess screwing it up with their help, now let those little bastards clean up the mess that they made as well."

Nagato nodded silently, unhappy with what he was saying. He couldn't deny that he was wrong, as the world was only this messed up because of the adults. "I trust you won't scare her too bad?"

"Why do you care how I do my job? I scare her away, the problem gets solved. She won't go crying to her mother. She doesn't have the connections anymore. So don't worry about her striking back against you."

Nagato nodded his thanks and departed as the man went back to smoking his drugs in the hopes that a combination might let him get some sort of fix from it.

(-)

"Care to repeat that?"

Ozpin slowly opened the file he was presented by Qrow. While it was great to see him again, he was very curious on why he was here to begin with given how he was supposed to still be out in the field right now looking for more information on Queen and her pawns.

"I said that I am fully aware of their current locations and that I am aware of who is in _my_ city."

Qrow didn't seem to believe him and was more than ready to rebut his words when the elevator doors opened and a worried James walked in. He had been speaking to Glynda in a hushed voice but as soon as the doors had opened he had quickly quieted down and walked in. The two Huntsman put their conversation on city safety on hold in favor of whatever bad news James might have. They didn't have to wait long for him to start asking all of his questions. He jumped right into the middle of it without so much as being asked.

"Where are my men?"

Qrow almost laughed.

Almost.

The fact that James might have lost his men seemingly overnight or in broad daylight was a rather amusing prospect when one looked out the window to see three of his ships flying high in the air and maintaining a safe perimeter over the city.

"What happened?" Ozpin asked, Qrow's fears put to rest for the time being and his attention now thoroughly drawn to the General.

Instead of answering immediately, Ironwood stared down Qrow for a brief moment before turning his gaze on to Ozpin and explaining as he brought out his scroll and sat it on the desk. "Two of my men were taken during the day. They were working their shift and then they were taken without warning."

The table light up and projected a large open area that was most likely a part of one of his ships. The footage remained as it was while two soldiers, one male, the other female, spoke about something that the camera could barely pick up. That wasn't what got their attention. The time stamp suddenly went back ten extra seconds and then jumped ahead ten seconds to when the clocks had been changed back. The other noticeable thing was that the two soldiers it had focused on her were magically gone.

"This was reported to me a few hours ago. And to make things stranger, we had no vessels leave or show up, and they aren't on the ship. I can't find their location and the only one capable of doing that on our records is Raven. So, what happened to my men?"

Ozpin held the Generals' gaze for a few ten seconds before he leaned back and start contemplating an answer for this. This could have simply been a miss use of power, someone tampering with electronics, or they had parted for time off and the systems just _happened_ to have a problem at the exact moment of them leaving. But James trained his soldiers well. So, the idea of this happened unlikely. Doable under right circumstances, but unlikely.

The General didn't back down and it was very clear that Qrow was about to start pointing fingers at Naruto when a thought suddenly hit him. If Naruto wasn't here now, which he knew he wasn't, that meant that there was no chance in Hell he had anything to do with this. And if he didn't do it, then who did? And for what reason would they take two highly skilled warriors?

The more James thought on it, the more he came to realize that it wasn't just a tactical assault against him, this was for some higher purpose. If it was information they were after, the two wouldn't talk. They were trained well and whoever took them most likely didn't have the means to get what they wanted out of them. Even then, Elite or not, they didn't have the clearance to all of their classified material. Now if they wanted information about previous operations that the two had carried out or was just out for revenge, that seemed more likely to be the thing.

Ozpin turned back to the window and gaze out at the three ships that now hovered above his city and silently wondered just who would be brave enough or stupid enough to take two highly skilled warriors from James. That wasn't really the big mystery to solve right now. They had more pressing matters to attend to right now.

"I don't know where your men are, General. But if I had to wager a guess, they were captured by someone that wants to keep them silent for knowing something they shouldn't." Qrow glanced out at the three ships as Ozpin continued. "Qrow, I know where he is currently. He left a month ago and hasn't returned yet because of his mission. I'm sure that if he were to show up right now, it'd be because his mission was completed. You know how he works."

Qrow said nothing, instead opting to sit on the desk and stare out over the city. If Ozpin knew where he was and what he was doing, that was good enough for him right now. If anything, he could worry about other problems right now. Like his most current job was finding more information on Salem, a task that was proving to be rather hard, all things considered. How was he supposed to find a secret group of people that were trying to change the world for probably the worst and do it through backhanded means and manipulation of other people and factions? Well he found enough so far that it was proving useful to Ozpin. Now they just had a bigger problem to contend with.

"So, what about the people you think that are probably in your school?"

James might have been blind to his question or the concern for his two mission soldiers was overriding a desire to sniff out an unknown number of threats that was now within their very walls. If he wasn't going to worry about the threat, then he didn't care. Not right now, at least.

Ozpin gave out a weary sigh of frustration. Time was not on their side.

"Ozpin," James cut in, his uneasy on his own situation worsening at the thought of his two soldiers missing. "What about my soldiers? Do you have any idea on who would want to take them?"

Relenting to the good General, the Headmaster sat back down, his eyes shadowed by his long bangs as he asked, "Have they learned anything that would put them in harms' way?"

Opening his mouth for a quick reply, he suddenly paused and his eyes narrowed. Ozpin inhaled slowly through his nose, a small and silent answer to James as the man quickly put it all together and realized that they did indeed learn something that they shouldn't have. The unidentified creature on New Haven had surfaced here, and under Naruto's protection. Naruto was gone, this was something James knew quiet well, but it wouldn't be hard for him to stage something like this. But why go to the trouble to silence them after a few weeks of them being able to tell him and substantially anyone that needed to know?

Qrow glanced between the two Headmasters and for a fleeting moment considered lecturing the General but stopped when he realized that it wouldn't make anything better. The alcohol in his system had long left him, so he knew his rational thinking was kicking in better than even. Right now, he had more important issues to worry about and they sure as hell weren't the General's issues.

"Since that's the only reason that makes sense, unless they've done some terrible thing in their job, the most likely people to know anything would be based around the information they have. So," Ozpin stood up, his fingers trailing along the edge of his desk as he walked around it, "what did they learn?"

James clenched his jaw. The information was known to Ozpin. He shared it with him and even gave him his opinion and threat assessment on the information they had come across. "I know the name of the creature that defeated the Ancient Grimm on New Haven."

Now Qrow started laughing.

"This isn't funny, Qrow! My men are…"

"I know your men are in danger. I'm not laughing about that. I'm laughing about the fact that your just figured out the kid's name." Qrow interrupted, his demeanor becoming serious. "His name is Richtor, and he's a part of my sisters' group. He's the whole reason that she was forced to leave Tai."

"If you know that much; why haven't they taken you out?"

"Because unlike you, I know when to keep my mouth shut. I assume that as soon as you figured it out, you went and told your council about him, right?" James's silence was all the proof he needed to know he was right. Qrow snorted, shaking his head. "How someone like you managed to become a Headmaster, I'll never know. I'm not disrespecting your abilities, but even you, as a General, should know when to keep your mouth shut."

"Are you saying that this is my fault? If you had this information beforehand, why didn't you share it with us? It could have saved my two soldiers."

"In the long run, two soldiers don't amount to much." Ozpin confess sadly, but his eyes were hard and his fist clenched hard enough to dry blood. "You're lucky you didn't lose an entire ship with this information. I highly doubt that they're done, but if they are, they simply wanted to snuff out the people that found the information before moving on."

James nodded and concluded that an extra security detail would be needed until this issue was resolved.

"But we have the other issue to deal with," Glynda reminded, adjusting her glasses and setting down her tablet. "We know that Queen has some of her pawns in our midst. We just don't know who they are."

"And there's too much information to go through right now for us to find them before they make their move, if they plan on making it right now." Qrow reminded. Glynda nodded in agreement. "For the time being, I'll stay out in the field and try to find more information on what are enemies are up to. But until then, I'd suggest you keep your town under lockdown until we know what kind of pieces she has on our side of the field. And if I were a betting man, I'd say she's got some thinkers on our side right now." Pushing open the window, Qrow glanced out of the city one last time. "James, start questioning anyone that was there when they got the information. Chances are high that whoever was there might be connected to the group that took your two soldiers."

"Naruto is out of the city," Ozpin reminded. "And the only other people involved were the members of team RWBY. I highly doubt they're involved in this." Qrow gave a nod and departed through the window. A small crow soon was seen flying in the distance and James was left to wonder on the future of his soldiers and this world.

(-)

Naruto took a deep breath of cold air as he moved through the mountain. By his side were Cold and Nagato. Ahead of them, leading them through the cold blizzard, were Haku and Zabuza. Behind all of them were the amassed forces for the operation. Since the entire operation was now being forced, Naruto had reworked his original plans to meet the _generous_ time he was now given. What it all meant now was that his time was short unless a body was produced. If they wanted one. He'd give them one.

A red light blinked in the top right corner of the HUD in the helmet he was wearing and he froze. The others behind him all stopped.

The red light blinked twice.

The ground shook and the group braced themselves against anything sturdy enough that survived the sudden impact that shook the ground. A cloud of snow blanketed the area around them. An ominous red eye peered through the snowstorm and then promptly vanished. Naruto withdrew his twin pistols and chin-jerked to Cold to move up. Cold didn't move two feet before a giant black hand tore him into the snowstorm and silenced whatever small scream he tried to get out.

Naruto didn't bat an eyelash. Instead he focused on the cloud as it moved around in a circling formation.

 _He's hunting now._

The red light turned green and then went dark. They finally got the first obstacle cleared and were now setting up the next part. Naruto motioned for everyone to fall back as he sat down a small sphere. He tapped the top of it and then kicked it forward. A growl sounded from behind the veil of snow. A moment later the clouds parted and Naruto fired one round from both guns. The cloud of snow was blown away and the creature was revealed for the first time in nearly twenty years.

Twice the size, length, and girth of the Alpha Beowulf, Fahrenheit stood like a giant amongst them with arms as thick as tree trunks and legs nearly twice the size of his arms. What parts of his body weren't covered by white bone armor were black and very far between with most of his body being covered in the skeletal armor that all Grimm had. Despite his size, his code name was given to him because of where he lived, but rather because beneath his paws the snow and everything around him melted around it from an unnatural heat source that came from within its very body.

Standing to its full height and let loose a powerful roar that blew back the snow showed warn down trees and skeletons around the Ancient Grimm.

A single shot echoed from somewhere behind them. A split second later thunder sounded and Fahrenheit roared in pain as a barrage of bullets and explosives pelted it. Naruto moved to the side as the Ancient Grimm was stuck under a hail of rounds and dropped another sphere on the ground. The others had long since begun doing the same.

A roar and a blast of heat that melted the snow. The Grimm roared loudly, creating more heat before the invisible heat came to life and fire erupted from its mouth. The large pillar of flames that flew from its mouth shrank in size and began to change to a light blue. Before long it was a letting out near white flames that cut through the trees and melted the snow for hundreds of feet in the air.

Eyes wide, Naruto saw a bunch of red lights wink to life on his HUD as panic set in.

Realizing that their main objectives were done, Naruto signaled for the retreat and felt something hit him hard in the side. He flew through the air and hit the ground hard. He tumbled down the sloop and started painting hard as his vision blurred. He could taste copper in his mouth.

The blond slowly got to his feet and held his side. His armor was dented and he had no way of knowing if he was hurt or not. It didn't matter right now. He had to focus on getting the others out.

"You can't save them all by yourself."

Naruto jerked to the sound of the voice and found himself standing before the small home that belonged to Kurama. He stood at the door with a snarl as he stared through the window towards the man inside that was busy reading a book.

"You can't save them all."

Naruto turned his head and saw Fall leaning against the fence. "What do you mean?"

She offered up a sad smile and waved a hand in front of his face. Suddenly he was back in the fight, but not in his own body. He watched as the Ancient Grimm begun tearing everyone to pieces. They ran and followed their retreat tactic he had drilled into them, but it didn't matter. The creature would disappear and reappear without warning and tear them apart. Naruto wasn't fazed by any of the deaths.

"You've had this dream before." It was a statement that Naruto wasn't going to answer. "I showed it to you. Just like how I showed you Sakura's death. Don't you remember that? I showed it to you and you thought you could plan around it. Just like Kurama did. He thought that if he knew what the future would hold for him, he could stop it. But he couldn't. He saved as many lives as he damned. You are doing the exact same. You will live through this, but you will kill so many people in the long run that it won't matter."

Naruto was silent for a long time before he finally glanced back out over the battlefield as his people ran for their lives. "Are you here to tell me there is another way to survive this?"

Her hand went to the door and she gently pushed it open. Naruto didn't look inside. Instead he kept his back to the door and was staring out onto the battlefield as others began to die and the base that was near the foot of the mountain was suddenly dragged into the fight.

"Thousands of people will die tonight because of this," she told him. The number didn't faze him nearly as much as the carnage that was following. "This night will forever be etched into the memories of the survivors as the most horrible night. A "Night of Terror" as some even call it. But this, to some, marks the end for all life."

"I don't care about the future. How do I save them?"

The door opened fully and Fall vanished with the wind. Naruto kept his back to the door, and Kurama, as he stood just outside the frame.

"You understand what needs to be done, yes?" Kurama asked quietly. The blond didn't reply. His tail twitched and Kurama smiled grimly. "You can't save them all. No one can. I can't. But I can save the important ones to you. My power is-"

"Why should I side with someone who would rather look at the world through a window?" Kurama blinked and closed his mouth. Naruto faced him finally, his eyes hard and his fists clenched. "You live your life in your books, looking to the past and wanting to change something that you had no power to change. I know I'm no different, but the hard fact remains that between the two of us, you look to the future to solve a problem in your past. You could hardly call that kind of thing life. That's nothing more than a fantasy. A dream. A book from a time when it was already completed."

 _You are no different from me._ Kurama thought, a bitter smile pulling at the corner of his lips.

"If you want me to side with you – Accept you! – then how about you step through this door and stop living in the past!" Kurama began to laugh and Naruto's eyes turned red. "Your refusal to face reality. Content to watch us from affair. Don't every make me laugh, Kurama! You are nothing but a child that can't even-"

"Do you truly think I want to be out there? Why should I?" Kurama bristled at this upstart that thought he knew the world better then he did. "What right have you to tell me what to do?"

"You want to see the outside world but you only look at through a fogged over window. You are no better than the councilors who sit behind their desks having their talks while thousands of people die each day. It's all about politics now. Politics and finger pointing. You are no different!"

"I am different. I have conquered entire nations. I have raised warriors from nothing. Burning armies to ash! Do you think I do this unwillingly? I exiled myself from ever stepping outside because it's all the same. You say that I live a fantasy life in my books. That all I do is try to fix a mistake from years ago. Well you are no different! You live in your past because you can't escape your feelings, just as I can't escape my feeling for the first Fall Maiden, for my sister, or my…" He stopped, his eyes downcast.

Naruto shut his eyes and willed the painful memory of Sakura's death from his mind.

"That might be true, but at least I don't exile myself to seclusion like you. I do what I do, because I must. For in this world, the only reason bad men exist is because good men do nothing." Opening his eyes, Naruto suddenly smiled and turned his back to the old warrior. "I will do whatever it takes to destroy the evil that is corrupting this world."

Stealing himself, the ancient warrior grinned. "I have question for you, Naruto." The blond narrowed his eyes in questioning fashion. "What do you do when there is an evil you can't defeat by just means? Do you stain your hands with evil to destroy evil? Or do you remain steadfastly just and righteous, even if it means surrendering to evil?"

Blinking, the blond chuckled. "That's a paradox. In either case, evil remains. But," he grinned maliciously, "I would commit evil to destroy a greater evil."

Kurama laughed and held the side of his face as he doubled over from his fits of laughter. "You truly are an angel that has forsaken sympathy, young boy!"

"Angel?" Naruto snorted. "I will become a Demon if it means I can rid the world of this evil that has taken root here."

The old warrior stopped laughing and stood up straight, perplexed at words of the youth in front of him. _Am I no different from him, Mother?_ He recalled a memory of joy before the wars took place. Before he was bound to servitude to the Maidens. He had once thought of himself as a boy who longed to be a warrior of good and light for the world. He wanted to be the person that every one looked up to. But now, as time went on for him, he learned the cold truth of war, of his heroic actions, and how the world at large saw him.

 _I am a Demon who walks behind others, needlessly sending them to the slaughter so that I can live longer. That was all I ever did. But you, Naruto, you… You're different. You don't care how the world sees you. You don't care the world would see me. You only care about the results. You'll do whatever it takes to achieve victory in the face of hopelessness. That's why you're here now. You're not here because Fall brought you to me. You're here because you knew there was no saving them. You're only here to have my power to save them. I have my test for you and you went and completed it, but didn't take my power then. Because you wanted me to take your test. You are a… a… Demon._

"I don't have all day, Kurama." Naruto's voice was dark and his eyes harder than steel.

Head down, the old warrior began to growl. "You are a Demon. Do you not care for why I did this to myself?"

"No."

"How anyone loves you, I do not know. But I know your child hates you." His red eyes softened and the blond before him didn't even blink. "One day, they will look back at your life, and do you know what they will see? A monster who saved the world by damning an entire culture and religion. There is no happiness for you."

"Make up your mind now, Kurama, or I leave and-"

Kurama stepped outside and Naruto stared in shock for only the briefest of moments.

"For someone so young to demand something so simply from me… You truly are the most interesting person I've ever linked with or the most frightening. I'm not sure which, to be honest." His sword glowed red and he admired it for only a moment. "It won't hurt. I promise." Without warning he stabbed the blade through Naruto's chest, and to his credit, the blond didn't budge. "Now we're linked. Let's go save your friends!"

Naruto screamed and jumped up as the world came crashing back to reality. For a split second, he thought he was dead as he got to his feet and looked around. The battle was still ragging on and the beast was getting closer to everyone as it made its way towards the downed Nagato.

 _ **Tell them to fire on Konan!**_

Naruto shuddered and gave the order without question. To his credit, Nagato had jumped to his feet and used his Semblance to force the beast away, making Konan its next target. A split second later two slug rounds from one MAC rifle slammed into its side and sent it careening backwards along the ground. Nagato grabbed his lover and ran as well.

 _ **Start moving with Raven. Run for two seconds, stop, turn left, jump, roll, and then give the command to fire directly at you. Tell them to use Incendiary Rounds!**_

Naruto grabbed Raven by the wrist and start hauling her away. He did as instructed; giving the command. He paused where he was meant to and watched as the beast appeared in front of them and took a dozen shots to the back, igniting its fur and destroying parts of his bone armor. It howled with pain and Naruto shoved it aside with his Semblance, forcing it to the ground as its entire body caught fire.

 _ **Have Rookie open up on it. Tell him to waste all of his ammo on it. He won't have to worry about it in the next fight. From there, you have to tell all squads to drop to the ground because you're going to do something really crazy!**_

"Rook! Open up!" Naruto shouted into his COMM. "Waste everything. Just hit the bitch!"

A moment later a black suit of armor flew overhead and began raining down death from above. Micro missiles and fifty caliber rounds peppered the beast as it rolled in the snow to put itself out and escape harm. The two ran as hard as they could until Naruto heard Rook's weapons fully empty.

"All squads! Hit the deck!"

 _ **Use your Semblance in a wide swing with your scythe. It'll sense what's come and move to get above it. From there, you only need to worry about the falling debris. Nothing else. Have everyone that's further back at the base, open fire and target the debris before it reaches that ground. This'll give everyone else a chance to run for safety.**_

Turning on his heels, Naruto grabbed his scythe with both hands and swung while generating his Semblance through it. Fahrenheit was already back on its feet and making a charge for him when it suddenly stopped and jumped high in the air. Naruto looked up and for a moment, wondered if he did the right thing in listening to Kurama. His answer came only a hair second later at the mountain erupted into a ball of debris that was thrown thousands of feet into the air and sending the beast scattering away as it tried to run from the oncoming storm of debris.

 _Is this…?_

 _ **While forgotten by most, this mountain was once a natural hot spring, but as time went on, nature took its course and froze the surface water and created this mountain. All the hot water is buried beneath the frozen water. A now dormant volcano sleeps here. That's why this beast makes his home here. He feeds off the heat, and to a greater extent, the Dust crystals that lay at the mouth of the volcano.**_

Naruto gave the order for the base to start firing on the falling debris while everyone else ran for cover.

(-)

James stood in shock at the sight before him.

A recon team reported odd sightings and a battle on a mountain. He hadn't thought anything of it when he was told about. Atlas was covered by mountains. With garbled transmissions, he didn't know what mountain they were talking about until they sent him footage of the battle. Then he knew what mountain they were talking about.

The mountain that had stood as a testament to fear and time was now smoking with lava spilling onto the surface and hot water taking over in small craters created by the battle from untapped sources deep within its frozen shell. Nearly fifteen square miles of the mountain was now black and red with small splotches of white sprinkled in where snow was trying to make a home again.

 _What the hell is happening out there?_

"General!" James came from his stupor and saw his soldier offering him a COMM. "The Council wants to have a word with you."

He nodded. "Set it up in my office." He moved quickly for his office as was soon staring down the form of two shadowed figures on his monitor. "Ma'am. Sir."

" _Explain yourself!"_ The female demanded.

"This isn't any of my soldiers doing. I've already confirmed it."

" _So, this is just a random act of aggression out of the Ancient Grimm there?"_

"No! A splinter cell agency is trying to take it out. I didn't authorize this and sure as hell wouldn't allow it, either."

" _We have sent a team to investigate at the Gibraltar Base! They haven't reported back yet! And it's been two weeks since we sent them when they suddenly went dark."_ The male informed him. _"Whoever is there doing this, must be brought in. I want you to send your best to take the base back and to bring in this agency. Is that clear?"_

"With all due respect…"

" _IS THAT CLEAR?!"_

James hardened his eyes. "No. It is not. If you think you can send my men into a dangerous area without my written consent, then you will have more problems than just trying to order me, a General and a Headmaster, around. Good day to you." He cut the call and inhaled deeply while smoothing his hair out. _I need a drink._

A/N

Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've been busy with work prior to our shutdown and moving into my new apartment. So updates should start to be more regular now. So hopefully the next update won't take months to get out and instead should be out in a few weeks.


	17. Eat or be Eaten Part 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A/N

This story is entirely fan-made and fictional. Any acts that you might find offensive, disguising, inhuman, wrong or just don't like, we are not liable for. You are reading this story of your own free will and not being forced, if you don't like something we are not forcing you to stay and read it. Please leave the page and re-frame from reading the chapter and or story. All Copyrighted Characters belong to their respect owners. We don't claim anything that is not our own creation and are merely using them for fan made material.

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Chapter 17

"How was your talk with the Council?"

Raven waited for a reply from the blond, but when no reply came, she turned an eye on him and noticed him staring out a window at Pein and Origami as they conversed with a few other surviving soldiers. While only a handful had died, the entire operation was now in its final phases and no one else could be lost right now. Which was why Raven was so terribly worried about what the Council would have to say about Naruto's actions, and the measures that were to be taken now. Given their current fighting force, any direct attack against it now would be suicidal unless Naruto could think a way out of death.

If they wanted to use Richtor now, they didn't have much firepower to back him up. Sacrificing the base in the ensuing flood was not exactly a great thing to have given up, but if mother nature, or Naruto in this case, decided that it needed to go via hellfire from a dormant volcano and boiling water, who were they to truly to argue?

But it was a bother to Raven on why everything ended up the way it did. With only a few people lost, the entire operation, as Naruto had once put it, required everyone. He had made plans and told them that they would all be going home. She didn't know if this was a ploy to make them fight harder or give them the courage to face a historically unbeatable foe, but she was starting to see his terrible logic.

It scared her.

But with the loss of life so high for one of his operations and the Council breathing down his neck, Raven began to worry for the blond. Not many times had he ever suffered like this and not come out unscathed. The first time she laid eyes on him she thought of him as nothing more than a lost cause and damn near was right. His first operation was a mission for failure. Raven and the Council could see no hope for victory, yet, despite that, he pulled through as the only survivor of the entire operation. A feat, that when looked back on, was nothing short of a miracle that he purposefully mocked. From that moment on she saw him as someone who had a chance in the world to be the best hope for mankind or the worst.

Seeing that he wasn't going to reply, she turned and marched off, her _less_ than immediate tasks needing to be fulfilled for the moment. Richtor was in need of food and with their target so close to them and few Grimm in the area thanks to its presence, they were going quite the distance to get him anything that wasn't human at the moment. That rule might just get lifted soon if Naruto didn't plan a winning operation in the next few days. Normal food could sustain him, but it wouldn't be as good as his normal food.

Raven hadn't taken more than a few steps before she came face to face with the Butcher and Tundra, both of whom were looking through something on their scroll. The duo was looking at a map and something in code before they realized she was behind them and stashed them away.

"Can we help you, Bird?" Tundra asked, her voice sending chill down Raven's spine.

Snorting, she moved to stand beside them and peer out over the sprawling landscape from the ruins of the military base that they had taken and turned into their private operations center. A thick cloud of fog from the hot water and lava covered most of the world from her view, but she could see them gearing up for the next and supposedly final assault.

"Sight is being unusually quiet right now. We can't leave the base right now, not without permission from Naruto, and I'm not too eager to break his one rule while we're waiting for his next plan of attack to commence. Doesn't help that we're also having to wait for the Council to get off their asses and start sending in their reports for the next operation after this."

Butcher nodded after giving his female companion a quick glance. They knew what that was like. Having to wait on the orders of another was a terrible thing. It made working for places like Naruto's group a blessing and a curse. They weren't stupid enough to believe that they weren't a giving group without a terrible price to be paid. Naruto left their group after his time was served, something that didn't ever happen. Butcher didn't understand the finer points of it, but for what he understood, Naruto's services were bought out by his employers. If that was true, what exactly did they give to the Old Lady in exchange for him? Aside from their Rank One/Squad Leader, he was the most valuable member she had every acquired. So why she gave him up he didn't know.

"That's what sucks about us," Tundra confessed bitterly.

Raven perked up at hearing that. "I figured you were always sent out on operations and worked without regulations, just like us. Is that not the case?"

The sound of metal scraping against the ground drew their attention to the regal form of Rook in his armor. It was almost an unspoken rumor surrounding both Rook and his Master, McCloud, that their armor was specially designed by Atlas, but to Raven, the armor was not of Atlas design. She'd seen McCloud's armor, a regal thing that was sleek and form fitting with no need for extra plating like how his was. Rook's armor was a massive thing that was covered head to toe in weapons of mass destruction. He was built for firepower and nothing more. Micro Missiles on his legs, Gatling guns, hidden machines guns in the chest, two rotating Vulcan cannons on his shoulders, and a palm laser in both hands made him an imposing figure, despite the dark color and skull-like design for the mask.

But the extra armor and guns had more than one usage.

She'd heard the rumors about Rook. He wasn't really a man anymore. He was a true monster. Something to be feared. The armor was more for their safety than it was his own. Rook's Semblance was a terrifying thing when unleashed and not something he had control of. If she were to compare any Semblance of terrible power to his, the only one that came to mind was her brother's Bad Luck Semblance since it was always active and effecting _everything_ and _everyone_ around him. But Rook's Semblance was worse if she were to believe the rumors and the nightmarish story that Naruto had once told her.

"It's not always like that," he informed her with a dull tone.

Raven eyed him for a moment before noticing how Tundra and Butcher seemed to stiffen at a red splotch near his chest where a gouge in the armor lay. It was small, but the damage was noticeable enough, but it was their fear that had Raven more curious about the man than the armor.

"Did you get that looked at?" Butcher asked him, his eyes narrowing on the splotch of red against the black metal.

Rook glanced down and felt the ripped metal before nodding. "Yes. I had it looked at. _Faraday_ isn't here right now. So, no repairs."

Tundra flinched at the mentation of one of those two things. Raven glanced between the three and sighed. "Mind filling me in?"

"…Not in the slightest, Bird." Butcher replied darkly. "I'll have to speak with Sight about that. That is… alarming that you took damage."

Rook shrugged and sundered off to do who knows what as Tundra and Mist began contemplating the next plan of attack in their minds. They knew that Sight wasn't stupid enough to actually send him out now with a damaged suit unless he wanted to make things worse for everyone here and the military. If the military got involved, this whole place would fall faster than anyone would believe. Terrible powers aside, the suit was also rather valuable and expensive to make. Repairs alone could put some of Mistral's upper citizens in the negatives with the exception of maybe one of two council members.

Seeing that she wasn't going to get anything further out of them, she sighed and decided to move along. She had more pressing matters to contend with than simply hoping for a clue or two on the inside activities of an elite group of soldiers from Mistral that did off-the-book jobs and didn't exist.

(-)

"The Creature will have to act fast for this plan to work. If he fails, you will know immediately."

Naruto wanted to cut him off with other theories and strategies, something he did regularly when being given jobs like this one. But Kurama was insistent on his silence until the entire operational procedure was explain in full detail. And since Kurama was _graced_ with a such a _good_ skill of descriptions, it made it so easy for him to fully understand exactly what he was getting at with the plan. Of course, Naruto was only thinking sarcastic comments at this point and knew full well that Kurama was more than likely listening in on them if his constant three second pauses to stare at him were any indication.

All this did was make Naruto think back to his time in school where his teachers would ask the class if they had questions and move on without waiting to see if someone was brave enough to ask a question to begin with. Naruto wasn't the smartest back then, but damn if he didn't let it show from time to time. When it wasn't combat related, Naruto wasn't the kind of person you wanted information from. If it didn't have to involve a battle plan or the description of something important, Naruto was rather lacking in all other fields. That didn't mean he was stupid, he just wasn't as up to speed as others about certain things.

Oum forbid you ask his mother what his hardest question ever answered was, either.

But right now, his entire being was focused on the Guardian as he continued to show him the difference between two magic mirrors with one showing a time in which their entire plan failed and another in which they're plan succeeded. Right now, all Naruto could see was a big zero difference in the two. And since the difference was supposed to be a color thing, Naruto was getting rather close to pulling out his hair and just start yelling at Kurama since he could see no difference in the two.

That wasn't to say his plan was a bad one, but at this point, Naruto seriously had to interject or he was going to go crazy.

"Once it begins to dissolve you will win and everyone will get out alive. Do you understand my plan? You can speak now."

Licking his teeth, Naruto calmly got to his feet and walked towards the witch mirrors that Kurama had summoned up to show him what everything would like if it worked as planned or if it failed horribly. In either case, it was hard to tell where victory stood and where defeat stood. Simply put, Naruto didn't know what he was looking at.

But there was one thing he was certain of as of right now. Richtor wasn't just the key to this plan. He was the only one strong enough to actually damage and keep damaging it. They would be useless just like all the other military operations against it and without Richtor, they would inevitable die.

"At what point can we start laying the mines?"

Kurama rolled his eyes. "Your weapons won't do anything but put more soldiers in danger. If you follow my plan, you live and we all go home. The only causality will be that of Heart. But you already planned on that after his lack luster performance at following your plans to the letter."

Naruto turned his back to him and looked out over the crest of the hill. It was summer in this part of his mind. Kurama was rather found of the warm sunny days as opposed to Atlas's cold dreary days.

Despite Kurama's words from their first successful link, the immortal warrior had returned to the safety of his home at the start of their meeting. It made some sense to him for why he would. All of his material things were here to draw up their plans. Thankfully they had returned outside if only for a moment. Kurama had even started moving back towards the house, his job in this whole thing now officially over.

Kurama peered out the window, his eyes softening at the sight of a woman in white as she danced with another, laughing happily as she did. For only a moment the image of it was real and he could see his former host spending time with a former Winter Maiden. They had loved each other like no other. But time was always short for them. They would only spend a day or two together before he was called away to save another, destroy an enemy, or collapse a government. Those were trying times. He, above all others, was better with the power of Sight that Kurama gifted him. He saw parallel worlds to his own and managed to delve deep enough to commune with them. No one would match this man. Of that, Kurama knew too well.

Blinking his eyes, the images faded and the dancing woman remained. Naruto was oblivious to her. His gaze was fixated on something else, unseen to Kurama. Just for a moment he considered touching his mind to see what thoughts consumed him, but knew better. He could find in time.

"It doesn't get any easier for you after this. Enjoy the few moments of peace you have. The Creature should be under complete observation from this point on. Once you win this battle, observe him."

"Why do you call him that? He has a name."

"Why do you still think of him as a tool and not a friend?" Naruto rolled his eyes. "He is not the first I've encountered of his kind. He will not be the last. I thought we destroyed all of them in the war after their slaughter of my sibling and mother." Naruto's tail twitched at the mention of that. Kurama wrinkled his noise. "The first one was a man with silver hair and had a scythe arm for his left and his right was a three-finger clawed hand."

"What happened?" Naruto felt a need to know now.

The old warrior stiffened and then relaxed as he moved towards the door and stepped back outside out. The world exploded into fire and screams. Smoke rose high into the sky and gave a false night for the world.

Naruto shielded his face as Kurama stomped on the ground hard. His entire being shook with rage. His eyes burned with a rage greater than the Hell before them. Naruto looked out over the carnage as the suns' rays pierced the veil of smoke and illuminated a much younger Kurama as he cradled a dead woman in his hands.

"I never thought we could die," Kurama told him softly. "All our powers… I never knew we could die until it happened. One day a Vetitum Est – Grimm Eater – showed up. Attacked our family… Killed all but the nine of us. I thought my mother and brother would return. I spent years looking for them. But I eventually managed to pierce the true veil before us all. I pierced the veil of Death and spoke to one who would never die and never live. When a Vetitum Est eats one of us, we are truly dead. We won't come back. The one that showed up was powerful enough to kill my mother, several of the Loyal Guards, the Helium Knights, and the Blood Legion. I thought for sure they would return. But they haven't. And they won't."

The blond stared ahead as the world returned to normal before snow began to fall. The clouds turned grey and a brisk chill swept through the entire area. The blond shut his eyes and put his hands in his pockets. "Did you find him and kill him?"

"No." That surprised him. Naruto had expected him to use his power and eradicate the assailant. "…When I… When I looked for him, I couldn't find him," he confessed with a slow shake of his head, confused even by his own words. "How do you hide from time? From me? I see all. I know all. So why can't I find him. I looked back to that day and he's not there. I see them die, but by an invisible hand. Even now, he hides. I know it's impossible for him to be alive. But if he hides from me, can he hide from Death? Can he hide himself from life? How does one do this? How does one achieve such a state that they are no longer bound by Death and by Time?"

"You think that power could have saved them?" Kurama shrugged. Naruto looked up at the grey clouds as the snowing grew worse. "This will be the final fight, yes?" Kurama nodded. "I trust you enough to help me get through this. After this, I'm taking a break."

"I know. I saw. I heard. They're singing was lovely." Perplexed, Naruto arched a brow and waited for more. "When you return to your wives, tell them to sing again. I much enjoy their singing. Far better than the Schnee at her current age. In time, she would have been the best, but her path will soon no longer be her own. Her story will be full of hardship and end happily, but only after crossing through Hell and Heaven will she find peace and love. Much like your story, but without the happy ending."

Naruto didn't care much for that. Weiss was her own person and while she was currently being used without her knowledge, she was still a free-thinking individual, free from the grasp of his Organization and other former groups he'd worked with. Many wanted to have her skills and power, but very few were capable of getting close to her. A shame really. If her future was to be used, Naruto hoped it was by this group.

"…They're not my wives…" Naruto pointed out.

"…Oh right… Silly me."

Naruto gave a light shake of his head. Marriage was a foreign thing to him, if only because he never thought he'd live long enough to find someone, let alone two people to be with.

(-)

The putrid smell of alcohol, smoke, and sex was almost too strong for James to stand in this place. The loud music didn't help him either. But the main thing that got him was the location of this place and the sheer design of it. It was a rundown building in the shadiest part of Vale where crime was constant and the shadows had ears and eyes. It was a place where everything was cheap because there was no security here aside from the one you had.

But this was his best and only lead.

He wanted to turn his nose up at these people, but knew he couldn't. Not these people. In his youth, he had spent a large amount of money and time at places like this to drown his sorrows and fears about his grades or to satisfy his screaming hormones at that time. Looking back on it, his youth was spent poorly, but everyone did the same.

"You don't look like the type to be here." A calm voice drew his attention down and to the left of himself where a young woman in a white dress stood furiously typing something on her scroll. James felt his natural desire to take it grow as someone that was both a military leader and a Headmaster of a prestigious school. Seeing a young woman also spending her time in this place was a little discouraging to him for the youth of Vale. "But then again," her eyes slowly met his and he felt something cold take him, "you aren't the first to grace our presence." She inclined her head in the direction of the bar where a man in a white uniform sat talking to a girl in red.

James clinched his fist. He could deal with him later. Off duty he made his soldiers wear civilian clothes here. This was to help in hiding who his soldiers were and to make sure that none of them were targeted by whatever organization had taken his two soldiers.

"Are you waiting for someone?"

" _Looking_ for someone."

The girl rolled her eyes and walked to the bar. A bearded man that was cleaning a glass spoke to her while keeping his gaze locked with James. Owner, perhaps? That'd make sense. His information was a little out of date with the owner of this place. Last, he checked, the owner didn't have a beard or was as big as this man.

The man gave her a nod and she shrugged her delicate shoulders as she marched back to him, taking a glass of something from a passing waiter as she did. "He's over there," she declared as she sauntered off to mingle with the party goers.

James nodded his thanks, but got nothing out of her retreating form as he then made his way to Junior. "Hei, I need information."

Junior rolled his eyes and picked up another glass to start cleaning it. "I don't know what you're talking-"

"Don't play me, Junior." The Club owner sighed explosively and sat the glass down gently, almost as if doing anything more would break it. This one act was enough for James to realize that he had the man's full attention and that he was ready, if not unwillingly ready, to do business. "Some of my men are gone. They disappeared a few days ago. No trace. No prints. Nothing."

"So, it's the work of ghosts?" James slowly narrowed his eyes to the claim/taunt. "You make it sound that way. No one is that good that they don't leave prints. Not even _your_ dogs can do that."

"Don't disrespect my men."

"Don't ask for the impossible." He picked up the glass and started cleaning it again, almost as though it were a security blanket for him. Cute. "Look, I'd like to help you, but I can't. Don't interrupt me," he added hastily, silencing the General before he could say anything. "Let me finish before you jump the gun and have your dog's tear my place apart. They did once already. I've recovered from it, but I doubt the media will like you vandalizing a well-mannered establishment like me. Sure, as hell did you a lot of good last time. You're just lucky that there was a Grimm sighting."

James grit his teeth but said nothing. Anko and Iruka were not getting away with that claim and their independent operation to catch and a detain Naruto for Kushina. That ploy almost cost him a lot more money than he already shelled out for the damages caused by a stolen suit and the unique Grimm that now had all four Countries gunning for it. Ozpin might be taking a backseat on the event, but he wasn't capable of stopping their votes if they wanted it captured.

"Now," James sat the glass down again, but this time he pushed it away from his form, sat both hands on the bar, offered a smile, and said, "Let me frank with you. What you're looking for is a group of a well-equipped and disciplined warriors with access to your ships, your files, and your troop movements… If I had to take a guess. Now, having said all of that, I can think of two known groups out there that would want to either silence your men or seek revenge against them. Given the tear you've been on lately – Yes. I have my own source of information on your activities. – I highly doubt you're dealing with the White Fang and the Kojima Sect. Kojima doesn't care about you. They only care about dismantling technologies we create because they believe that the Grimm are only truly after the things we make. So, you can rule them out. White Fang, however, is a different story."

James nearly missed the return of the girl in white as she produced a glass of water for him. James stared at it for a moment before she gave a roll of her eyes and said, "It's not laced with anything. Atlas needs a competent General, not an idiot. The next in line is a retard and one that Naruto believes should die in a fire for his blatant stupidity. Plus, Naruto ran circles around him in all training simulators. So why off you if he's the next _best_ choice for the job?"

James took the drink, though he only held it, and looked back at Junior as the man watched her go, his head shaking. "She misses him," he told the General. James got the picture then. The girl in red moved away from the other solider to follow the other one. "They both miss him," he clarified with an almost pained expression. "But the White Fang wouldn't do this. And here's the reason. You're a smart person who does extensive background checks. For good reasons, too. Why chance a piece of a powerful technology getting into the hands of someone who doesn't need it or is too dangerous to have it? But, to be far, you're human. You make mistakes. But you're still thorough. And, of all your crew members you brought with you, only five percent are Faunus, the rest are human. The ones that did come are engineers or specialist. And you're training method breaks whatever hold someone has on them in the process to make them better, stronger, and smarter during that process. You remold them they are selected. Just like what you did with Naruto and Itachi."

James mulled that over.

As painful as it was to admit it, while he did suspect that the White Fang might have had some involvement in this, as it would explain away the stolen suits, it wouldn't explain how they got aboard his ship and got off it completely undetected. And while the Kojima Sect was a group left over from Atlas and Mistrals' less than pleasant agenda in the past after the war on all expression was fought, they wouldn't jack technology to steal two soldiers. That was just stupid. If they wanted to do something with a stolen tech, they'd turn against other things. Namely, right now, his fleet that was hovering over Vale. Drop one of those crafts and you could knock out ten blocks easily if it simply fell straight down. Having it moving and going at terminal velocity while trying to pull up and you might knock out more than twenty blocks with the wreck and explosion.

But there were still other groups that could or would do this.

"What about the Sins?"

Junior stood up straight, his jaw set and his eyes judging the man before him. Just his words alone gave meaning to James's knowledge. "They don't-"

"Spare me. I'm not stupid. You know more than any civilian should. I'm sure with the right amount of leverage anyone could get anything out of you."

"Tell that to the blond girl," Junior muttered softly. He reached under the counter and grabbed a bottle of something dark and poured himself some. He knocked it back hard and fast and then poured some more. "Listen," he set the bottle down and leaned against the counter on his elbow, almost as though he were about to impart some sage wisdom on a child that knew no better. "Let's say that it was the Sins. Why would they do this? For one, the Old Lady that controls them doesn't do something like this. The last time she sent them out and they were suspected of this crime, she outright said she was and dared anyone to try something against her. If this was her, she did it with purpose and careful planning. And since I know there were no bodies, since there was no cleanup, that means it wasn't them. There are still the Unspoken Children and the Seventh Column. Both of them are radical groups within Atlas that wish for Mantle to be restored to its former glory."

"And then there is the group that Naruto is a part of."

Junior refilled his cup slowly and then raised to eye level and began inspecting it the dark liquid inside. "Did you ever once stop in your life and look at the mistakes and accomplishments you made in your life and wonder, "By what hand did I achieve all this?" and then come to conclusion that you did it all with your own hands?" Perplexed by his words, the General shook his head. Junior eyed the liquid more carefully, and, after looking hard enough, walked over to the sink, emptied the liquid in his hand, and walked back with a small dark speck of something solid in the center. "I learned long ago that nothing we do is achieved by ourselves. Whether it is the guiding hand of fate, destiny, or some powerful group that controls the world, nothing we do is truly ours. Even the most powerful people in the world are controlled by another. The most powerful people who sit in seats bought with money and power, are slaves to another. You achieved all that you did by yourself, or so you'd like to believe. Someone saw potential in you, made you a General after they're passing, and then from there you became Headmaster because… someone chose you again. But who trained you? What drove you to join the military? What drove you accept a position at a school?"

James stood up, ready to leave.

"You know," Junior sat another glass on the counter, prompting James to face him again. "When I was a boy, my mother used to tell me stories. Stories that were meant to scare me. She told me that every wall had ears and that was how she knew I'd been a bad boy in school or in the house. When I started following in my fathers' footsteps, I learned that every shadow has a figure in it with a knife poised for the kill. I lived with those fears because they honestly scared me. But," he poured himself a glass again and this time didn't hold it up for inspection, "I learned something far more terrifying. Do you want to know what I learned?" James didn't get a chance to ask. "The world has eyes."

Junior became serious, his posture hardened and his shoulders squared, but his eyes remained fixated on James. They bore into him and might have pierced his soul if one could do such. James felt a chill run through his body and his breath hitched in his throat.

"Everyone is watching you, James. They watch me. They watch Ozpin. They watch the worthless and the worthy. The strong and the weak. No one escapes their gaze because they want to know when you fuck up. You fucked up somewhere and now the eyes are more focused on you than anyone else. I don't know who's watching you. If I have to impart some wisdom on you now, aside from that, let it be this. Trust no one. But trust everyone else. Because in this world, no matter what, it's all about your survival. I will sell out anyone if I can live for one more day if they are scary enough. You're bound by a code. Break that code. I really think you should take a step back, find the eyes, and watch them instead." He downed the drink and turned his back on the General.

(-)

The wind gnawed the exposed flesh of those foolish enough to not wear proper clothing, but to Richtor, the bite of the wind was nothing but a gentle breeze in mid-summers' day. As the wind howled and bite at the world, Richtor did nothing more than sit and wait for his next batch of orders from Naruto… Well his name was Sight for this mission, but names were trivial things and he paid them little mind at times. Though he did feel the bite of the wind, it was nothing to him and his gaze remained fixated on the mountain where their target was. While he mostly spent his time eating elsewhere and being away from combat, his patience was growing thin and a nagging voice that called out from the wind was start cause him great annoyance as well as the separation from Cream.

He shut his eyes and a for a brief moment he could feel warmth and hear falling water in the back of his mind. Somewhere, one of his bugs was happily being warm and listening to falling water. He didn't know where it was or what it was doing, but he knew that it was somewhere in Vale watching Yang or perhaps it was the one he'd sent to find Cream. Did it even make the voyage home? He doubted it. Sending one out from this spot in this cold weather with it having to make such a long trip with no food to find for itself meant it was probably dead right now. Plus, it didn't have a scent to follow. So even if it did find her, it might not know it was her without him being able to command it.

Opening his eyes, he sighed and looked up at the dark clouds and the wind picked up.

 _I'm so bored._

With no form of real entertainment – eating Grimm to his heart's content. – Richtor truly felt like he had reached the ultimate low in his life. He was bored, something that didn't usually happen to him often. If he wasn't training, he was eating or sleeping or reading. Usually he'd spend his time mostly eating or reading, but training was always a subjecting sort of thing for him. Raven hadn't even started really pushing for combat training until recently and that was only after his loss to Kakashi.

But for him to be bored was a rather small and almost impossible thing given his creative and odd mind.

Which was why he was only partially bored.

This wasn't his first trip to Atlas, or more notably this region of it, and he knew that it wouldn't be his last. Certain Grimm existed here that didn't really exist anywhere else. And with his surprising augmentation from the first Ancient Grimm he devoured, they had started to make more noticeable changes in the way they not only handled him back at base, but also what they allowed him to eat, resulting in some less than inspiring realizations.

Richtor looked down at the fresh snow that continued to fall and grabbed a handful as some of the troops walked by making odd comments about him.

"… _osh mu…"_

Richtor jostled at the strange voice, dropping the ball of snow and squinting his eyes as he tried to pinpoint the source of the voice. Now that he was focusing on said voice, he found it was no longer present and his desire to find it diminishing only because of a desire to figure out why one of his bugs was now fleeing for its life. A brief connection to the small creature turned up a girl in white that was chasing it around with a swatter before he made haste under the door and disappeared to another room for safety, taking shelter behind a dresser.

"… _Mauru es ssrinj!"_

Richtor turned to the mountain, the voice pinpointed and blinked curiously at it. The snow grew thick and gnawed savagely at his fleshed. His eyes flashed between red and blue for a moment before the snow began to part and a pair of red eyes the size of a small house shone brightly in the spectral image of some ancient beast of old.

The snow thinned and parted. What few rays of sun broke through the thick clouds didn't last long, but the light was strong enough to punch through the thick blanket of falling snow on the mountain, revealing patches of green that were just as quickly covered up as the suns' rays disappeared back behind the veil of clouds. Richtor turned his nose up at the sight and began making his way back to the others. They were going to hold another meeting on their next part of the plan. He knew he was finally playing a part in all of this. It was a high time too, he was growing restless, whether he knew it or not.

The meeting room was less crowded then before. No one dared to even speak that wasn't either sane or brave. With the deaths from their last operation still fresh in their minds, it was very clear that what little faith they might have had in Naruto's plan was rather shaken now.

In all the times Richtor had worked with Naruto, never once had he allowed someone to die that he didn't plan for.

Despite what the world might think of him or even Richtor, neither was naïve enough to believe that a single operation could be carried without some weight of death for their team. Richtor had survived many battles against the Grimm, yes, but Naruto had survived and sent people to their death with broken promises and words of praise. Their deaths meant little in the grand scheme of things for Richtor, as he was never truly connected to those people like how he was with Raven, Kiba, Tayuya, or Naruto. The four had been his main handlers, if not until recently anyways, for a large amount of his time in the organization. This was mostly due to him working closely with his mother and on few occasions in the past, Naruto.

Which was probably so many people were still here.

There could be other reasons for them staying. If they were staying out of another reason aside from fame or the promise of riches, Richtor didn't know it. He couldn't see any other reason for them to truly stay. This wasn't their fight. It was his fight. This was a monster that needed to die. This mountain was his home, yes, and they were trying to take it from him, but there were too many deaths to this thing and not enough victories against it. Atlas had never managed to drive this thing back without suffering heavy losses. And while they might have suffered some, they had come out on top in a bigger way than they ever did.

Which was why this was all the more important to strike at the beast while the iron was still-

" _Mauru waur wosh shum!"_

Richtor's head snapped in the direction of the mountain. For only a second he felt his mind grow heavy and his eyes weak. He struggled to stay upright in his chair as the voice grew louder and louder. His entire head swam in a darkness that he had never seen before.

"You alright?"

Richtor snapped from his haze, his mouth open and his breath short. A tiny hand rested on his shoulder. "I'm fine… Flower." He struggled with his name. The girl gave him a stern look before she adjusted her eyepatch and returned her single eye to the front of the room.

Falcon leaned in on her and whispered something Richtor didn't catch.

"…Dismissed…" Naruto didn't give anyone a chance to question him.

Richtor blinked. The meeting was over? But he was certain that he didn't miss it. It wasn't possible for him to have missed the meeting entirely. There were no drawings, no battle strategies on the board. So, did Naruto just not use them? That wasn't like him.

"Let's go, Scale. We're burning daylight."

Richtor grew fearful as he hopped to his feet and followed the others outside into the coldness. The entire trip was one of worry for him as he trudged behind his mother and the rest of the group up the mountain. What little fear he had about what he'd missed in the meeting was soon thrown away as it was replaced with another fear. The creature that was here was beginning to stir. He knew it was close. He could smell it. His bugs grew irritated. The sound of gnawing flesh and inhuman sounds echoed from within him. With each step a new sound emerged from some dark spot within him.

" _Cimu si mu, Cholk."_

Richtor froze mid step, his eyes now stuck gazing upon the creature he was here to kill. It towered over him, its entire being and existence willing a power he'd never experienced before crushing down on him. His knees wobbled and he collapsed, his breath hitching in his throat. His eyes burned a dark red and form changed to that of his red form. Even with its enhancing strength, he could barely find the strength to raise his head and meet its foul gaze.

" _Cimu si mu, Cholk. Mauru waur wosh shum. Mauru es ssrinj."_

"…What are you saying..." Richtor rasped out. The pressure was released and he was dragged out of the dark world and back to the white snow. Raven stood before him, her helmet discarded and her eyes full of fear. Richtor blinked tears out of his eyes and looked down at something that was warm in his hand. Red liquid spilled from somewhere in his hand that turned to ash and dissolved before his bugs could digest it. "…What… What's going on?"

"It's alright," Raven told him, holding him tightly. "This is your fight. Now fight. Fight and win."

Richtor felt the presence again and this time was standing in the dark world again. This time the beast was his height and its form less imposing. It sneered at him and liquid fired dripped from its maw. Its shoulder bleed and Richtor could feel something warm dripping from his mouth. He wiped a clawed hand across it and found dissolving blood.

" _Cimu si mu, Cholk. Mauru waur wosh shum. Mauru es ssrinj."_

Snarling, the Grimm Eater let out a battle cry and charged the beast. It did the same and the two clashed with powerful punches that connected and ate the world of stillness with a defining roar.

It was time to eat.


End file.
